North State Journal Vol. 9, Issue 13

the BRIEF this week

Charlotte ight attendant pleads not guilty to bathroom recording

Boston An American Airlines ight attendant from Charlotte who authorities say tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September on Monday pleaded not guilty to two counts in federal court in Boston.

Estes Carter Thompson III was indicted last month on one count of attempted sexual exploitation of children and one count of possession of images of child sexual abuse depicting a prepubescent minor. Police also allege Thompson, 36, had recordings of four other girls — ages 7, 9, 11 and 14 — using aircraft lavatories. Thompson was charged and arrested in January 2024 in Lynchburg, Virginia. He has been in federal custody since.

Citing new media law, Israel o cials seize AP equipment

Jersusalem Israeli o cials seized a camera and broadcasting equipment belonging to The Associated Press in southern Israel on Tuesday, accusing the news organization of violating a new media law by providing images to Al Jazeera.

The Qatari satellite channel is one of thousands of AP customers, and it receives live video from AP and other news organizations.

Guiliani pleads not guilty in Ariz. election interference case

Phoenix Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani pleaded not guilty Tuesday to nine felony charges stemming from his role in an e ort to overturn Donald Trump’s 2020 election loss in Arizona to Joe Biden. Giuliani appeared remotely for the arraignment that was held in a Phoenix courtroom. His trial will be held in October. Former Arizona Republican Party chair Kelli Ward also pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges. Ward and at least 11 other people were arraigned Tuesday for conspiracy, forgery and fraud charges. Arizona authorities unveiled the felony charges last month against Republicans who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Trump, a Republican, had won Arizona.

inside

Memorial Day marks the start of summer, and this week’s Murphy to Manteo map takes you across the state to enjoy events like Brevard’s White Squirrel Weekend starting Friday along with other must-see happenings.

Tour the map on A6 and A7.

Weatherman, Boliek prepare for Nov. election

New State Crime Lab director announced

Amanda Thompson has worked in the state DOJ laboratory since 2000

“Amanda has been an integral part of the Crime Lab for more than two decades, and I know she’ll do incredible work as director.”

NC Attorney General Josh Stein

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein announced the hiring of Amanda Thompson as the new director of the State Crime Lab.

“Amanda has been an integral part of the Crime Lab for more than two decades, and I know she’ll do incredible work as director,” Stein said in a May 13 press release. “She will continue to lead the state’s e orts to use science to deliver justice.”

Following a nationwide search, Thompson will replace Interim Director Leslie Cooley Dismukes. Thompson has served as the Crime Lab’s assistant director of administrative operations since 2016.

Thompson joined the Crime Lab in 2000 as a DNA database analyst and has served in several roles including forensic scientist, forensic scientist supervisor and forensic scientist manager of the DNA Database section.

Stein’s press release noted that while serving as assistant director, Thompson “helped lead the work to end North Carolina’s backlog of untested older sexual assault kits.”

At a press event in April, Stein announced the backlog had been cleared. Stein, a Democrat, is near the end of his second term as attorney general and is running for governor in November.

The backlog has a more than 20-year history tied to Gov. Roy Cooper, who served as state attorney general for 16 years before Stein was elected.

When Cooper ran for governor in 2016, he claimed he had cleared a “5,000-deep” DNA testing backlog from when he rst took o ce in 2001. However, when Stein took o ce as attorney general, North Carolina had more than 15,000 untested rape kits, the most of any state in the country.

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH —Hal Weatherman and Dave Boliek won their May 14 second primary runo contests for lieutenant governor and state auditor, respectively, and now look ahead to November’s general election.

While the results are still uno cial, Weatherman, the chief of sta for former Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, defeated Forsyth District Attorney Jim O’Neill with more than 74% of the vote. Weatherman won every county except for O’Neill’s home county.

Weatherman will now face Democrat state Sen. Rachel Hunt in November. Hunt is the daughter of former Democratic Gov. Jim Hunt.

Boliek, a member of the UNC Board of Trustees, defeated Jay Clark with more than 53% of the vote.

Boliek will face Democrat Jessica Holmes, a former Wake County commissioner who was appointed to state auditor earlier this year by Gov. Roy Cooper after Beth Wood resigned following her indictment related to a 2022 hit-and-run accident that occurred while she was driving a state-owned vehicle.

Weatherman said he hasn’t had a weekend o in 16 months but he’s “not going to take his foot o the gas.”

“I think general elections, by de nition, are a choice,” Weatherman said of facing Hunt. “You have a choice as a voter. What direction do you want to go? And so the burden is on the candidates themselves to spell out those di erences. And I will run a positive campaign. I don’t believe in negative campaigning.”

Weatherman said serving served two terms with Forest means he has no learning curve and plans to make Hunt compete on her record.

“I will force her to compete

Legislators, others honored for contributions to NC outdoors

Bob Barnhill and Eddie Smith were inducted into the North Carolina Outdoors Hall of Fame

By Abby Cavenaugh North State Journal

WALLACE — There’s no doubt that kids these days are spending a lot more time staring at screens on their phones, laptops and televisions than any other generation in history. In 2015, state legislators recognized this and decided to be proactive in getting more of North Carolina’s youth involved in the great outdoors.

Rep. Jimmy Dixon, a Republican who serves Duplin and Wayne counties in the 4th District of the N.C. House, introduced House Bill 640, also known as The Outdoor Heritage Act, creating what is now known as the North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission. The commission held its rst event on Tuesday at the River Landing Clubhouse in Wallace. It included awards for Dixon and other state legislators, a recap of the work the commission has done since its creation in 2019, and the induction of three individuals — Bob Barnhill, Richard Childress and Eddie Smith Jr. — into the North Carolina Outdoors Hall of Fame.

The commission is tasked with “the responsibility of producing statewide youth outdoor opportunity experiences that you and me are familiar with, such as shooting sports, archery, shing, hunting, horseback riding, camping, hiking, kayaking and the list is even longer,” explained commission executive director Justin Burr. “By 2015, it had become evident that kids were spending less time outdoors and more time indoors on screens. Lawmakers knew that that couldn’t go unchecked.”

N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore, a Republican who serves the 111th District, was honored rst at the event.

“One of the things we see far

too often today is young people who are stuck inside with electronic devices,” Moore said. “So the work that you all are doing is making a real di erence in the lives of young people around North Carolina. Glad to be a small part of it.”

Sen. Bill Rabon, a Republican who serves the 8th District in the N.C. Senate (Brunswick, Columbus, New Hanover), was also honored for his work in getting the commission started. He was unable to attend the event. Dixon received the Founding Legislator Award.

Sens. Brent Jackson (R-9th)

The GOP candidates won their respective run-o s last week

Richard Childress,

CHRIS SEWARD / AP PHOTO

Dave Boliek, who won the Republican nomination for state auditor in a run-o last week, speaks at a Roxboro rally in January.

All is well with us when Christ dwells in our hearts. The Shunamite mother from 2 Kings 4 could say “All is well,” because she was a believer in God. Her faith was seen in her works. She loved God, and therefore loved the “man of God.” Observing that Elisha often passed her abode on his Divine errands, she prepared a chamber for his special use. So let us provide in our hearts an abode for Christ. He is always passing. He is willing to stay with us. He knocks and asks us to receive Him. The rich woman provided for the poor traveler. Jesus dwells with the lowest of His servants. The Shunamite carefully provided for the prophet Elisha’s comfort — “Let’s make a little room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by,” and this was gratefully noticed by the prophet. Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her that we appreciate the kind concern she has shown us.”

So let us thoughtfully, generously, lovingly, be careful to entertain Jesus. Let it not be enough that we open the door for Him to enter. Let us prepare and provide as we do for an honored guest in our earthly home. Such reception of Christ will be our best security and consolation. With Him abiding with us, we can appeal to Him in all trials, sure that He will lend a ready ear, and stretch forth a ready arm for our help.

Jesus asks, “Is it well with you?” as He asked Peter, “Do you love me?” not because He is ignorant, but because He wants us to examine ourselves to exercise our faith. All will be well. In a little while we shall be beyond the reach of sickness, bereavement, sin, and death. All is well — because these trials which seem ill are on the path to that Heaven. Trials help us; they speed our pace, they strengthen our feet for the march, our hands for the ght; they “work out for us” the glory to come, and as the end will be well, the road must be well also. All must be well. A ictions are not accidents, nor the working of mere physical laws. God is in nitely kind and wise to direct the best methods to ful ll His love. Though we only see a small portion of God’s completed work, we may infer, from what we

know, that “He does all things well.”

We are assured of this by His written Word, and by the testimony of His Son who came to reveal the Father. And so when vision fails, faith is con dent, and says, “It is well.”

Can it be well without Him? Well with revelers in a sinking ship? Well with sleepers in a burning house? Well with Belshazzar at his banquet, when the fatal nger wrote, “Weighed in the balances and found wanting?” Well with the rich man with goods laid up for many years, when the warning was given, “This night your soul shall be required of you”?

But with Christ all is well. It was well with the Jewish youths in the ery furnace; with Daniel in the den of lions; with Paul and Silas in the inner prison.

Though a river has many windings, it is still owing to the sea. Now it turns to the right, now to the left, now backward; yet the current rolls on without stay, and bears our boat toward home. Each bend, each

“Elisha Raising the Shunammite’s Son” by Benjamin West (1766) is a painting in the collection of the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

seemingly opposing turn ows forward. If disappointed, it is well. If our dearest hopes are ba ed, it is well. If the voyage seems tediously protracted, it is well. If speedily to end, it is well. However wild the waves of the narrow sea we have to cross, it will be well; for our Savior, who crossed it to secure our safe passage will be with us. He will welcome us on the distant shore. And then, could a voice from those we leave behind reach us amid the glories of heaven, asking “Is it well?” with what exultant joy we would shout the answer back — “It is well!”

Christopher Newman Hall (1816 – 1902), was known as a “dissenter’s bishop” and was a nineteenth century English Nonconformist. In the U.S., he supported Abraham Lincoln and the abolition of slavery during the American Civil War. This article is an excerpt from his book “Gethsemane: Leaves of Healing from the Garden of Grief.” His work is in the public domain.

LGC issues project approvals worth nearly $450M

Greensboro’s water and sewer infrastructure projects were greenlit

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — The aging water and sewer infrastructure of the City of Greensboro was addressed at the May 7 meeting of the Local Government Commission.

Nearly $450 million innancing for infrastructure projects were approved by the Local Government Commission (LGC). The breakdown of thenancing includes $275 million in bond anticipation notes for water and sewer projects and $175 million in revenue bonds for previous water and sewer projects.

An 8.5% increase in water/sewer rates is expected. Per Greensboro’s Water and Rehabilitation website, “Most of our city’s 3,000-plus miles of water and sewer lines were installed prior to the 1950s. Some were installed before 1910. Our biggest liability is our decaying water and sewer infrastructure.

“If we do not maintain a healthy nancial position through rate increases and begin to replace aging water lines, sewer lines, and other essential assets, we will see an uncontrollable increase in water and sewer system failures. The most visible of these failures are water main breaks, sewer line cave-ins, and treatment plant outages.”

Other projects approved by the LGC included:

Raleigh (Wake County)

$320 million in nancing; $220 million in bonds to refund previous debts and $100 million for general government projects.

Baptist Retirement Homes of North Carolina

$86 million in conduit revenue bonds for senior living facilities across several counties.

Carolina Meadows (Chatham and Orange counties)

$85 million in conduit revenue bonds for expansion and renovation of a retirement community.

Durham (Durham County)

$84 million in revenue bonds for water and sewer system

improvements, anticipating utility rate increases.

Buncombe County

$81.5 million in bonds for school facilities, county facility upgrades and vehicle purchases.

Dare County

$29 million in bonds for various capital projects, including EMS stations and a youth center.

Village of Bald Head Island (Brunswick County)

$13.5 million in general obligation bonds for beach renourishment and erosion control.

Henderson County

$10.5 million in nancing for a new solid waste transfer station bay.

Two NC students named U.S. Presidential Scholars

“The 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars represent the best of our nation’s schools and inspire hope in the bright future of this country.”

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona

Dishita Agarwal and Jacob Elijah Chen were winners

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Two North Carolina students have been named U.S. Presidential Scholars.

Dishita Agarwal from The Early College at Guilford and Jacob Elijah Chen from Providence Day School have been honored as U.S. Presidential Scholars, alongside 15 other semi nalists

from North Carolina.

“The 161 high school seniors selected for the 60th anniversary of the U.S. Presidential Scholars represent the best of our nation’s schools and inspire hope in the bright future of this country,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “On behalf of President Biden, I am delighted to celebrate their accomplishments, and encourage these scholars to continue to aim high, lift up others and embrace opportunities to lead.”

The recognition is awarded

annually to 161 students nationwide for exceptional achievements in academics, the arts, and career and technical education elds.

“While being nationally recognized for academic excellence is a phenomenal feat on its own, it is even more impressive when factoring in the once in a lifetime educational hurdles the class of 2024 saw at the start of their high school careers due to the pandemic,” said NC State Superintendent Catherine Truitt in a press release. “These students

Southern Pines (Moore County)

$7.1 million installment purchase for road construction to support development.

Cape Fear Public

Utility Authority

(New Hanover County)

$5.1 million revolving loan for water and sewer work.

Granville County

$3 million installment purchase for a senior services center.

Newton (Catawba County)

$1.9 million installment purchase for equipment.

Lumberton (Robeson County)

$1 million installment purchase to replace City Hall’s HVAC system.

exemplify adaptability and perseverance and should be commended for their exceptional achievement.”

Out of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate in 2024, more than 5,700 candidates quali ed for the awards through outstanding performance on standardized tests or nominations by educational authorities and partner organizations.

The Presidential Scholars Class of 2024 will be honored with an online recognition program this summer, marking the program’s 60th anniversary. For more information and the complete list of scholars, visit ed.gov/ psp.

UNC Board of Trustees redirects DEI funding to public safety

The $2.3 million in funds will be repurposed

By Makiya Seminera

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — As North Carolina’s public university system considers a vote on changing its diversity policy, the UNC Chapel Hill board has voted to cut funding for diversity programs in next year’s budget.

At a specially called meeting on May 13, the school’s Board of Trustees (BOT) unanimously approved diverting $2.3 million of state funds in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) spending toward public safety and policing.

The board’s vote would only impact UNC Chapel Hill’s diversity funding, which could result in the loss of its diversity o ce.

The idea of cutting DEI positions and reinvesting the funding elsewhere was rst brought up at a BOT meeting on March 27. A few weeks later, the UNC Board of Governors Committee on Governance unanimously voted to repeal its DEI policies for the entire UNC System during an April 17 meeting.

UNC will join the ranks of other notable public universities that have stripped diversity spending, such as the University of Florida in Gainesville, which announced in a March memo it was reallocating funds to facul-

and Jim Perry (R-2nd), and Reps. John Bell (R-10th) and Jason Saine (R-97th) all received Legislator of the Year awards from the commission.

“These four legislators have played a vital role in supporting North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission and its mission,” said Wendell “Dell” Murph Jr., chairman of the commission.

The commission began hiring sta in early 2019 and created its rst two programs.

“Our Go Grants program provides grants to teachers and to nonpro ts to take students on outdoor eld trips,” Burr explained. “We also provide grants to fund construction of on-campus outdoor education-based structures.”

Youth ages 18 and under can earn patches for individual accomplishments, said Alan Pomeroy, the program’s director. “They can earn patches for free by completing outdoor activities and demonstrating their skills and abilities in anything from archery to hiking, duck hunting to bass shing,” he said.

ty recruitment. But unlike UF, which implemented its funding rollback after the state Legislature passed a bill banning diversity program spending at state universities, UNC “set the tone” on funding cuts before the North Carolina Legislature stepped in, budget chair Dave Boliek said.

“We’re going ahead and, you know, sort of taking a leadership role in this. That’s the way I view it,” Boliek, who is the Republican nominee for state auditor, said Monday after the vote.

The change would go into effect at the start of the 2024-25 scal year on July 1, Boliek said. Any jobs that could be impacted would occur after that date, although Boliek said he wasn’t sure how many positions may be a ected.

But a decision about whether the spending cut would remove UNC’s O ce of Diversity & Inclusion will be up to the university’s exible management plan, which is operated by interim Chancellor Lee Roberts and his team. The diversity o ce has 12 sta members, including a chief diversity o cer, according to its website.

The budget, which includes the $2.3 million amendment, will now be submitted to the University of North Carolina Board of Governors, UNC spokesperson Kevin Best said in an email.

The vote to shift more funding

to public safety comes as continued pro-Palestinian protests on UNC’s campus resulted in several arrests in recent weeks. Budget committee vice chair Marty Kotis said law enforcement has already been forced to react to protests, but they need more funding to keep the university “safe from a larger threat.”

“It’s important to consider the needs of all 30,000 students, not just the 100 or so that may want to disrupt the university’s operations,” Kotis said. “It takes away resources from others.”

But Boliek said the timing of the reallocation was “happenstance” and internal conversations on diversity spending cuts have persisted for almost a year.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a rmative action in college admissions last year — UNC was sued for its admission policies in the case — the board has continually considered how it should handle university diversity programs, Boliek said. Diverting more money toward public safety was also a concern for the board in the aftermath of a fatal August shooting on the UNC campus that left one faculty member dead.

“It makes sense where we can take money that I believe is not being productively used and put it to something that is more productive, and that is providing public safety,” he said.

Before the start of North Car-

“It makes sense where we can take money that I believe is not being productively used and put it to something that is more productive, and that is providing public safety.”

Marty Kotis, UNC BOT member

olina’s short legislative session, Republican House Speaker Tim Moore told reporters there was interest in pursuing anti-DEI legislation but wanted to let university boards review their diversity policies rst. At least 20 states have seen

Republican bill proposals seeking to limit diversity and inclusion programs in several public institutions such as universities. Now, all eyes are on the UNC Board of Governors, whose 24 members were expected to vote this week on changing its diversity policy after the board’s university governance committee voted to reverse and replace the rule last month. The change would alter a 2019 diversity, equity and inclusion regulation that de nes the roles of various DEI positions at 17 schools across the state — and it would appear to eliminate those jobs if the policy is removed.

If the alteration is approved, it will take e ect immediately.

North State Journal’s A.P. Dillon contributed to this report.

he said. “A lot of people ask me, they say, ‘Why do you do what you do for the outdoors?’ I was a kid raised on a tobacco farm, out there hunting and shing with my stepdad and his dad. I learned a lot about the outdoors, and they taught me a lot about life.”

Childress also said he enjoys passing his passion for the outdoors down to his grandsons.

“That’s what it’s all about, our youth,” he said. The nal honoree, Eddie Smith Jr., was introduced by Cameron Boltes, who works with Smith at Grady-White Boats, headquartered in Greenville.

“Eddie grew up in Lexington, N.C., or really, I should say that he was raised in Lexington, N.C., but he grew up stomping around the woods outside of town,” Boltes said. “He spent countless days chasing just about anything with fur or feathers.”

The programs combined have reached more than 280,000 youth throughout the state in 98 counties. More than $9.1 million in grants have been awarded to schools and nonpro t organizations by the commission.

The commission started the Trailblazers Outdoor Club in 2023, an after-school club that gives students outdoor experiences that may not be accessible to them otherwise. The Trailblazers started out with 32 clubs and has quickly grown to 100 for the next school year.

Bob Barnhill, chairman of the board of Barnhill Contracting Company in Rocky Mount, served on the Wildlife Resource Commission in the late ’80s and early ’90s and has always been an avid hunter. He was unable to attend the event due to a recent back surgery, but his wife, Penny, and son Austin accepted the award on his behalf.

“He’s had a successful career, spanning everything from NASCAR racing to a winery, and has done so much and given back so much to this great state,” Moore said.

Childress said it was an honor to be inducted alongside Barnhill and Smith.

“I’ve been very fortunate,”

Moore returned to the stage to induct Richard Childress into the Hall of Fame.

In more than 50 years at the helm of Grady-White Boats, Smith served on numerous boards, commissions and advisory groups related to outdoor conservation and involvement.

“I just want to thank everybody here tonight,” Smith said. “It just gives me chills. In fact, when Jimmy rst started talking about the Outdoor Heritage Act, to see where it’s come from then to now (is amazing).”

GERRY BROOME / AP PHOTO

The UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees voted to shift $2.3 million in diversity funds to

HERITAGE from page A1

ABBY CAVENAUGH / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

The North Carolina Youth Outdoor Engagement Commission honored four state legislators — from left, Sens. Brent Jackson (NC-09) and Jim Perry (NC- 02), and Reps. John Bell (NC-10) and Jason Saine (NC-97) — at a banquet held in Wallace on May 14.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

EDITORIAL | FRANK HILL

Memo to new Republican congressmen from North Carolina

The rst thing any serious legislator has to do to solve a public policy issue is decide what they really want to do while in Congress.

THERE ARE GOING to be at least ve new freshman Republican congressmen from North Carolina in the 119th Congress. Maybe six depending on what happens in NC-1.

Tarheels in Congress have a long history of being independent sorts when it comes to big issues. North Carolina was the rst state to not ratify the U.S. Constitution without the Bill of Rights attached.

There is no reason for our Republican congressional delegation to go against those rebellious political bloodlines and follow the crowd just because everyone else is following the crowd. Especially when the incumbent “crowd” on both sides of the aisle has done so little to solve the big public policy questions since at least 2001.

Here’s a memo to help them hit the ground running when they get sworn in Jan. 3, 2025:

Dear New Congressional Representative: You are about to start the most di cult job in our democratic republic. You are being asked to be a humble public servant serving constituents while being a bold leader on big important issues at the same time. It is a tough tightrope to walk.

Please don’t waste your time getting on Fox News or talk radio all the time. Being on TV is like icking a square of Jell-O on a plate and watching it wiggle for a while but it never goes anywhere.

Don’t take your cues or direction from the likes of Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia, Lauren Boebert of Colorado or Matt Gaetz of Florida. If they are your heroes and you want to showboat like they do instead of doing the serious work we have elected you to do, then just resign and come on back home.

The rst thing any serious legislator

EDITORIAL | STACEY MATTHEWS

The contractor blues

After showing pictures to others who have experience in the eld, they con rmed I was overcharged between $300 and $400.

WITH IT APPROACHING 50 years of age, my mom’s home needed some long overdue upgrades. She and my dad bought it in the late 1990s, but there were some things they never had done to it.

For instance, they never put in new carpet or kitchen/bathroom ooring, and they never got around to making the laundry/utility room more functional.

After selling my house earlier this year, I told Mom I wanted to have her house inspected to see what issues it had before we decided whether to keep it and x it up or to sell it and move on.

The home being as old as it is, there were of course issues found in the crawlspace, including those related to the home not being up to code by today’s standards, according to the structural engineer who we had come in a couple of weeks later.

After nding out what needed to be done (mold remediation, full encapsulation, termite treatment, a signi cant amount of wood replacement and supplemental piers), we set about bringing contractors in to make their assessments so we could begin reviewing estimates. With the amount of work, it was going to be a nice job for someone. But one of the bids we got was way out of proportion

has to do to solve a public policy issue is decide what they really want to do while in Congress. You don’t have a long time to do it anyway ― if you are a true citizenlegislator in the tradition of what our Founders intended, 10 years should be enough time to do what you can and then let someone else try to nish it if you run out of time.

Thomas Je erson wanted his tombstone to list three things he wanted to be remembered for: the Declaration of Independence; the Virginia Statutes of Religious Freedom and founding the University of Virginia. Make your time in Washington amount to something equally memorable.

Here are three major issues you can help solve and have chiseled on your tombstone which will earn you the eternal thanks of a grateful nation: protect the border; unleash the free enterprise system and balance the budget.

If you want to balance the federal budget, it is going to require most of your attention while you are in Washington, D.C. Saying you won’t raise taxes is the easy part ― however, not raising taxes does absolutely nothing to reduce federal spending. That is the hard work no one in Washington has done since 1997, so you have a blank canvas on which to paint your masterpiece.

Believe it or not, budget de cits have been this high before. In 1983, it was 26% of federal spending. In 2023, the budget de cit was 27%. The relative magnitude of the budget de cits can’t be used as an excuse to do nothing.

By 1998, there was a $69 billion surplus which was used to pay down federal debt. That did not happen by magic. It happened

based on the ballpark range we’d been told by inspectors.

When I let that contractor know that their quote did not meet our budget, incredibly, they told me that if need be it could be done in phases and that parts of it could be scaled back to t our budget.

Needless to say, a project being done in phases does not change the cost of it. And I was not going to scale back what needed to be done just so this contractor could get the job.

Another contractor expressed interest in doing the work but kept disrespecting our time by delaying the day they could get out here to make their assessment.

When I received a text message telling me there would be another delay and letting me know the representative would be at the house the following day, without consulting with me rst so I could review my schedule, they were marked o the list.

Fortunately, we’ve had good experiences so far with the company we decided to go with on the house repairs, which will be starting soon.

But imagine to my surprise and frustration when another issue cropped up last week.

Someone we had picking up yard debris after the storms informed us that our sewer pipe cap was missing.

I called an HVAC/plumbing company we’ve done business with for years to take a look at it. They told me because the pipe was cast iron, they’d have to upgrade it to PVC to “make it right,” and that “some

because serious legislators gured out a way to hold overall federal spending below 2% annually during the 1990s.

You can do the same thing. Hold federal spending down enough to allow the economy to grow and throw o enough tax revenue and the budget can be balanced by 2038. With any luck and a change in administrations from Biden to Trump, maybe the economy will grow a tad bit faster and get to balance sooner than that. You don’t even need to be there to watch it happen.

You are going to be presented with a major vote about the expiration of the 2017 Trump tax cuts in your rst year. They will sunset due to current law at the end of 2025 which CBO estimates will bring in $3.8 trillion in marginal new tax revenue over the next decade. Just know if you vote to extend the Trump tax cuts, you will have to nd an additional $3.8 trillion in spending reductions to keep de cits around $2 trillion annually for the next decade without any other spending restraint.

You ran for Congress to make a di erence. Starting Jan. 3, you are going to get that chance to be a true statesman and American hero.

We the People are depending on you to do just that.

digging” would be involved.

I assumed by digging he meant he’d be out here for hours, which is why I agreed to the $600 price. Normally, I would have had a couple of other companies come in to price it, but I trusted this one and after over a month of dealing with multiple contractors, I didn’t have the time nor patience to do it this time around. It only took him 15 minutes. When I called the company to complain about the price, I was told that I was undercharged. After showing pictures to others who have experience in the eld, they con rmed I was overcharged between $300 and $400. The crawlspace work is scheduled to start this week. Needless to say, we’re praying we don’t get hit with any more surprises because we’re eager to get to the fun stu , assuming we have the money (and patience) left to do so.

Please pray for us!

North Carolina native Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a media analyst and regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

COLUMN | DONALD BRYSON

Clarifying the case against NCInnovation: A response to Tom Darden

If NCInnovation receives its stated goal of securing $2.5 billion in public funds, it would have a larger endowment than NC State University, which is currently $2.03 billion.

PUBLIC FUNDING FOR a nonpro t called NCInnovation has been controversial since the state Senate proposed giving the organization a $1.4 billion endowment from public funds in a budget proposal in 2023.

Since that time, the John Locke Foundation has studied NCInnovation and similar programs in other states to better understand this use of taxpayer money. We are skeptical. So, I read, with great interest, Tom Darden’s critique of some of my arguments against public funding for NCInnovation.

I have never met Darden, but I want to address his assertion that I oppose government funding of university research. This is simply untrue, misrepresents my stance and overlooks key aspects of the debate on this substantial allocation of taxpayer funds. Taxpayer-funded applied research already exists within the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, and I recognize the value and importance of this investment. My contention lies not with the concept of funding research but with the scale and structure of the proposed NCInnovation initiative and the fact that similar programs in other states have terrible track records.

The UNC System already bene ts from signi cant taxpayer support, enabling a range of applied research initiatives that contribute to technological and economic innovation.

The introduction of NCInnovation, however, with an endowment funded by hundreds of millions — potentially billions — of taxpayer dollars to provide venture capital research grants, is a dramatic escalation in the nancial commitment asked of North Carolina’s taxpayers, raising questions about scal responsibility and prioritization.

NCInnovation’s current publicly funded endowment of $250 million is larger than the endowment for UNC Charlotte. Receiving a second $250 million, based on last year’s state budget, would make NCInnovation’s public endowment larger than UNC Charlotte and East Carolina University’s endowments combined. If NCInnovation receives its stated goal, according to its pitchbook, of securing $2.5 billion in public funds, it would have a larger endowment than NC State University, which is currently $2.03 billion.

The amount of public funding being discussed is not insigni cant and shouldn’t be treated ippantly, as it was rushed through last year’s state budget.

Darden suggests that NCInnovation is essential for North Carolina’s future, arguing that it will drive economic growth and keep the state competitive. While I agree that fostering innovation is important, the mechanisms and nancial prudence of achieving this should receive scrutiny.

The track record of similar programs is questionable at best. Previous initiatives, both within North Carolina and in other states,

COLUMN | LEE ROBERTS

have often failed to deliver the promised economic bene ts, resulting in wasted taxpayer dollars, unmet expectations, and, as in the case of Texas, “scandal-plagued.”

Furthermore, it’s di cult to understand what states we are chasing. North Carolina’s current economic standing contradicts the notion that our private sector is lagging. According to the 2023 CNBC rankings for America’s Top States for Business, North Carolina ranked No. 1 overall. The Old North State ranked No. 6 in both the “Technology and Innovation” and “Access to Capital” categories. These rankings do not indicate a state whose private sector is falling behind. On the contrary, they re ect a robust and thriving business environment that is already conducive to innovation and growth.

The premise that NCInnovation will provide venture capital-like grants raises a critical issue that Darden discarded: the role of the government in picking market winners and losers. Venture capital inherently involves high risk, and using taxpayer money to fund such ventures places an undue burden on the public. There are plenty of examples of this type of government in uence yielding bad results.

The 2011 collapse of Solyndra, a company producing cylindrical solar cells after receiving a $570 million federal loan guarantee two years earlier, is a prime example of the risks associated with government-funded ventures. Solyndra’s loan came from a federal program for commercially viable technologies but ultimately led to signi cant nancial losses to taxpayers.

This failure underscores the potential for mismanagement and lack of due diligence in government-backed projects, ultimately burdening taxpayers and sti ing genuine innovation. Ironically, some of Solyndra’s solar tubes were repurposed for an art display at the University of California — a public research university.

While Darden and I share the goal of promoting economic growth in North Carolina, our paths diverge on how to achieve it. The proposition of NCInnovation as it currently stands is too great a nancial gamble with taxpayer dollars, lacking the necessary oversight, track record or justi cation for such a substantial investment. Instead, we should strengthen our existing institutions, ensuring they have the resources and support needed to continue their valuable work without resorting to risky nancial endeavors.

Innovation is indeed the key to our future, but it must be pursued with diligence, responsibility and respect for the hard-earned dollars of North Carolina’s taxpayers.

Donald Bryson is the CEO of the John Locke Foundation, a free-market public policy think tank based in Raleigh.

UNC Chapel Hill Commencement remarks

This University is something we share, just as we share our remarkable state.

EVERY GRADUATING CLASS deserves a day of celebration and re ection, and this one more than most.

Many of you missed out on high school graduation, on the rites and recognition that normally mark the transition into college. You bore the brunt of the pandemic lockdowns. And then, you found ways to rekindle public life at Carolina after it was brought to a standstill.

And now you’re here, standing in this gorgeous place and surrounded by people who so earnestly want the rest of your days to be full and ful lling. I am one of those hopeful admirers, and I’m honored to stand with you.

I’ve had the chance to meet with a wide range of graduates recently. First-generation students. Student-athletes. Veterans. And so many others. My wife, Liza, and I have a number of high school and college graduations in our family. We know how important this ceremony is.

To the graduates, you’ve shown incredible commitment and curiosity to arrive at this point.

It’s always tempting to think we’ve lived through unprecedented times, faced unprecedented challenges, seen the world change in ways no one has experienced before. But there’s con dence in knowing that generations of students have stood where you stand, faced challenges equal to yours and thrived just as you will.

That’s because Carolina was born in a moment of upheaval, and it has seen plenty more since.

This University was created in the early days of the American experiment, when the arguments over the foundational ideas of this nation were just getting started. Those arguments have never stopped, and that’s exactly why we need this University of the People, this place where all are welcome to think, to learn and to argue for their vision of progress.

Being the University of the People is not always easy, especially when the people are not of one mind ... and they never are. Being the University of the People means that we contain all that is great and all that is troubling about our

society.

It means that Carolina doesn’t belong to you; it sure doesn’t belong to me; it doesn’t belong to any one person or group. This University is something we share, just as we share our remarkable state. And we hold it in trust for the generations who will come after us.

Sharing doesn’t come easily. I speak from some experience here as a father of three, as a husband and, of course, as a citizen of this great and vibrant and diverse nation.

But almost everything worth doing in life is the product of shared e ort. Your family, your professional achievements, your friendships and your civic commitments — all of those good and glorious things take compromise, sacri ces big and small, a healthy recognition that your view of the world is but one among many. It means balancing passion and conviction with humility, grace and respect.

None of those things are simple, and we should all be willing to acknowledge when we’re uncertain, when the right and righteous path is not clear.

But you can do so with con dence.

The con dence and certainty that your time here, the relationships you’ve built and the skills you’ve gained have prepared you to enter a world full of uncertainty.

When Bill Friday was president, seeing the University through a period of great unrest in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he kept faith with our core mission.

The University’s job, he wrote, is to provide our students “the knowledge, skills, and sense of purpose with which to live in this troubled world. That is the test we shall have to meet.”

That is as true today as it was then.

You all stand here as proof that we are still meeting that test, and we always will.

So, class of 2024, no matter where your next steps take you ... take them con dently and leave your heel print on this world.

Lee Roberts is interim chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

I THINK IT’S FAIR TO SAY that when most people think of higher education, a fullthroated, ag-waving patriotism is not the rst thing that comes to mind. Universities are known to be the home of the critic, the activist and the peace advocate.

They’re known to ask hard questions about the American project; cast doubt on the simple and comforting versions of the American story; and argue mightily for a world of greater global sympathy, where national identity might grow less important against the backdrop of our shared humanity.

That was certainly my perception when I arrived at Carolina as a rst-generation student, having grown up in the small town of Southport on the coast and the crossroads of Horse Shoe up in the Blue Ridge Mountains. My parents were a little wary of what I might encounter here at what politicians once called — only half-jokingly — the People’s Republic of Chapel Hill. Their concerns didn’t get any lighter when I called home my rst year and told them I had a self-avowed communist teaching one of my political science classes. All the rumors were true!

But that simple narrative misses two big things about American higher education, and about public universities in particular. First, colleges and universities have always been a key part of America’s arsenal of democracy, every bit as vital to the national interest as the factories, mines and shipyards you see on World War II posters.

For all the talk of Chapel Hill as an ivory tower, this University has always and forever been eager to serve in the most direct, pragmatic way — “to answer the nation’s present need,” as UNC President Edward Kidder Graham said on the eve of the First World War, when hundreds of young Tar Heels mobilized and much of the campus was transformed into a military training ground. Graham saw clearly the same thing that our country’s leaders have known for a long time, the insight that has made our military the nest and most capable in the world — knowledge matters. “The modern battle front is truly seen as organized, mobilized ideas in action,” Graham said, and he didn’t just mean the science and technology of warfare.

A military that knows what it’s ghting for — that carries the values of the nation into every task and mission — is a vastly more powerful force than a military driven by shallow loyalty.

If you know how to listen for it, freedom is everywhere in the life of the University. Freedom of thought, freedom of inquiry, freedom of speech, academic freedom, the freedom to learn — public higher education might just be the most freedom-loving corner of our society.

“The reading room of a college library is the very temple of democracy,” wrote the author and essayist E.B. White, re ecting on the early days of the Cold War. “A healthy university in a healthy democracy is a free society, in miniature.”

You may have noticed some of that lively discourse over the last several weeks, and I feel certain you’ve experienced the thrill and challenge of hearing competing ideas in your classrooms and dorm rooms and Zoom rooms over the last several years.

That is all part of the grand American experiment in freedom that you have pledged yourselves to defend, part of the open culture that our universities both nurture and depend on. It is not always easy or comfortable, but it is the American way, and it has produced the most vibrant, most productive, most inspiring nation in the world.

That communist professor I mentioned earlier? He turned out to be one of the better teachers, precisely because he taught me how to grapple with good and age-old questions about this nation that I cherish. He taught me how to live by the maxim of the great Constitutional Scholar Danielle Allen, who wrote, “Simple love of country, land of my mother’s milk, won’t do. My love must be sighted, not blind.”

I hope you’re leaving here with a love of country that is deeper for being more honest, larger for being more knowledgeable, and stronger for having been tested against the ideas and arguments of your fellow citizens.

I hope, too, that you will leave here with the con dence to be translators across American cultures that desperately need more points of connection.

You are scholars and servicemembers; skeptics and patriots; humanists and Americans.

You will know how to hold yourself in a lecture hall or a landing zone, how to represent yourself as a Tar Heel and a member of United States Military.

You will know a rich lexicon of academic jargon, and an even more specialized roster of military terminology.

I hope you’ll speak those two languages often, make those cultures better known to each other, and remind us all that America is a vast and marvelous place, and we should relish all of it.

I am grateful to you, this University is immensely proud of you, and this nation is indebted to you. Godspeed to you all, and God Bless America.

Peter Hans is UNC System president. Remarks are adapted from his speech to graduating military and veteran students from UNC Chapel Hill on May 10, 2024. COLUMN

Red,

Smoky Mountain Event Center listening sessions held Haywood County

A series of community listening sessions are planned this week about the Smoky Mountain Event Center in Haywood County and its impact on the community. The rst of three listening sessions at the Haywood Ag Center was be held Monday and was intended for homeowners who live within half a mile of the property. The second general public session is scheduled for Thursday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. The third session is meant for the agricultural community and will be held Tuesday, May 28, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

NSJ

Teen found with ri e, drugs headed to school

Iredell County

An 18-year-old was arrested last week after allegedly having a gun on school property at West Iredell High School. Deputies with the Iredell County Sheri ’s O ce said they received information that

Murphy to Manteo Jones & Blount

Corrections o cer, juvenile killed at residence

Caswell County

The victim of a deadly shooting in the Piedmont Triad has been identi ed as a corrections o cer. O cer Danielle Hines, 37, was shot and killed along with a juvenile victim last weekend at a home on Cherry Grove Road. Two other children were also shot but survived with nonlife-threatening injuries. The suspect, Anthony Lamont Siler, 36, fatally shot himself during a tra c stop initiated by Alamance County Sheri ’s O ce after CCSO put out a search for him.

WGHP

‘Car condo’ company to create luxury driving resort in Moore County

Moore County

A luxury car condo company has announced plans to invest about $100 million in Moore County, the Moore County Economic Development Partnership announced last week.

Woman charged after child tests positive for fentanyl

Davidson County

A woman has been charged with felony child abuse after her daughter overdosed in Thomasville. According to the Thomasville Police Department, Brittany Parrish told o cials that she was watching television with her 2-year-old daughter and walked away for a few minutes. When she returned, she “found her daughter slumped over” blue in the face. EMS personnel administered Narcan and immediately revived the child, who was taken to the hospital and tested positive for fentanyl. The little girl and her brother have been placed with family members.

WBTV

In a press statement, the company, Autoport, said it is planning to build its agship facility on 400 acres of rolling timberland in the northwest corner of the county, a destination that will become a world-class driving resort called Uwharrie Motorsports Park and Resort. According to the Moore County Economic Development Partnership, the semi-private resort will be the rst of its kind in North Carolina and be a place where members can showcase, drive and permanently store their automobiles. The resort will also feature many amenities that will be available to the public. The $100 million investment is expected to create at least 32 full-time and 100 parttime jobs in Moore County, and another 50 to 100 part-time employees will be used for sta racing and other events.

NSJ

EMS director faces child sex charges

Onslow County A former EMS division head in eastern North Carolina is facing multiple child sex charges. SBI o cials con rmed to local outlets that Robert West Barefoot was arrested last week after he turned himself in at the Onslow County Detention Center. N.C. Judicial Branch records show Barefoot faces four counts of felony indecent liberties with a child and two counts of sexual battery. Barefoot was jailed under a $40,000 secured bond. WCTI

Storage unit thefts traced to Mercedes with fake tag Orange County Surveillance images of a Mercedes-Benz sedan turned out to be the key to an arrest in more than a dozen storage unit thefts and break-ins in Orange County, o cials said Monday. On two separate days, thieves cut locks and stole items from 15 units at Surety Storage near Hillsborough. Deputies released several images of a 2004-2007 gray MercedesBenz E350 with black rims and a ctitious North Carolina tag. Deputies stated on Monday they arrested Steven Adam Woodson, 34, of Roxboro and seized a gray Mercedes-Benz E350.

NSJ

High school senior wins award

Edgecombe County The Annie and Sallie Ann Wheeler Memorial Scholarship Committee announced that North Edgecombe High School senior Kalyn Johnson was named its 2024 scholarship recipient. Scholarship co-founder Linwood E. Hinton and Lily Wheeler Lowe, mother of scholarship co-founder Jamaal D. Pittman, announced the winner and made special presentations to all the applicants. Hinton and Pittman are NEHS graduates, class of 2008 and 1999, respectively, and third-generation NEHS Warriors. Johnson received a $4,000 scholarship award, which is a one-time, nonrenewable award that will be paid directly to East Carolina University, where Johnson will attend in the fall. Scholarship applicants are required to have a grade point average of at least 2.5 and provide evidence of strength of character and a commitment to helping others. They must also have plans to enroll in a two- or four-year college.

WNCN

NATION & WORLD

Judge blocks Biden administration from enforcing new gun sales rule

Firearms dealers in Texas would have had to run background checks at outside sales like gun shows

By Acacia Coronado

The Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule in Texas that would require rearms dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.

The decision by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, came before the rule had been set to take e ect Monday. The order also prevents the federal government from enforcing the rule against several gun-rights groups, including Gun Owners of America. It does not apply to Louisiana, Mississippi and Utah, which were also part of the lawsuit.

“Plainti s understandably fear that these presumptions will trigger civil or criminal penalties for conduct deemed lawful just yesterday,” Kacsmaryk said in his ruling. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined to comment. The Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Twenty-six Republican attorneys general led lawsuits in federal court in Arkansas, Florida and Texas aiming to block enforcement of the rule

PRIMARIES from page A1

in the world of ideas, her ideas, her worldview, her values, her ideals versus mine in all 100 counties,” said Weatherman. “I will not allow the race to be dictated by just a handful of big counties. I will not do that. I will force her to defend her record and her positions in all 100 counties or yield the ground.”

He added he will run “a compare-and-contrast” campaign.

“I trust the people of the state. I trust that I’m more in line with their values, their ideals with their struggles and their anxieties right now,” said Weatherman. “And I just don’t see that from her or her party right now. I see them completely 100% out of touch with the average person in today’s world, the things they are concerned with, the things they lift up.”

He added “people are sick” of the Democrat Party and how it divides people and sets them against each other.

While Weatherman believes Hunt’s campaign will focus on abortion, he highlighted worries about the economy

“I

trust the people of the state. I trust that I’m more in line with their values, their ideals with their struggles and their anxieties right now.”

Hal Weatherman, candidate for lieutenant governor

and people struggling to make ends meet as the most important issues.

“That’s all she’ll talk about; when I talk about the high price of gas, she’ll talk about abortion,” Weatherman said. “When I talk about the high cost of insurance and the high cost of living, she’ll talk about abortion.”

Like Weatherman, Boliek also crisscrossed the state during primary season. He told North State Journal that he racked up at least 6,000 miles on his car hitting every meeting and event he could.

“Election night is like most election nights: There’s a lot of anticipation and we felt good about the campaign that we

Midlander Jerry Green holds up an historic .44 caliber Colt revolver from 1849 during the 2022 Silver Spur Gun and Blade Show in Odessa, Texas.

earlier this month. The plainti s argued that the rule violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that President Joe Biden, a Democrat, doesn’t have the authority to implement it.

The new requirement is the Biden administration’s latest e ort to curtail gun violence and aims to close a loophole that has allowed unlicensed dealers to sell tens of thousands of guns every year without checking that the potential buyer is not legally prohibited from having a rearm.

Kacsmaryk wrote that the

ran,” said Boliek. “We win or lose. We really felt like we had run not only a thorough and professional campaign but that we had left everything on the eld.”

Boliek said he is committed to telling his story to the voters so they know where he comes from, who he is and what his thought processes are related to the auditor’s o ce role.

Boliek jokingly described spending election night at home with his wife and children “constantly refreshing the state Board of Elections website.”

Boliek said the nancial and compliance components of audits are the “bread and butter” of the auditor’s o ce, and he would be taking a look at state government agencies and asking, “How can we serve the taxpayer and the citizens of North Carolina better?”

Should he win in November, Boliek said looking at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would be a priority. He said he wants to see what kind of return on investment taxpayers are getting out of the DMV and how certain projects in the state are being funded, who is receiving state funds for

rule sets presumptions about when a person intends to make a pro t and whether a seller is “engaged in the business.” He said this is “highly problematic” for multiple reasons, including that it forces the rearm seller to prove innocence rather than the government to prove guilt.

“This ruling is a compelling rebuke of their tyrannical and unconstitutional actions that purposely misinterpreted federal law to ensure their preferred policy outcome,” Gun Owners of America senior vice president Erich Pratt said in a statement Monday.

Biden administration ocials proposed the rule in August and it garnered more than 380,000 public comments. It follows the nation’s most sweeping gun violence prevention bill in decades, which Biden signed in 2022 after lawmakers reached a bipartisan agreement in the wake of the Uvalde Elementary School shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers two years ago this week.

projects and how the money is spent.

“That’s the question we want answered; What’s the return on investment?” said Boliek. “Because if we’re not getting a return on investment, then the auditor needs to have the courage and the professionalism to not just give a numbers result on an audit.”

Boliek pointed to his time on the UNC Chapel Hill Board of Trustees’ audit and risk management committee as well as his duciary experience serving as chair and head of the University Foundation and Universities Endowment, which oversees billions of dollars in private money.

Boliek, like Holmes, holds a law degree, but he also has a master’s in business administration and relevant class work in auditing and nance.

“I think in the fall there’s going to be a real line of demarcation between myself and the current appointed auditor with respect to what type of professional background and level of experience not only dealing with people but dealing with having to make really tough decisions in high pro le areas,” said Boliek.

SCOTUS declines to hear challenge to Md. ban on assault ri es

Washington, D.C.

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a challenge to a Maryland law banning certain semiautomatic rearms commonly referred to as assault weapons. The court did not elaborate on the denial, as is typical. It would have been unusual for the justices to take up a case at this point since a lower court is still weighing it. The Supreme Court is also considering an appeal over a similar law in Illinois. It did not act Monday on that case, which could be another avenue to take up the issue.

Judge rules Ohio can’t prohibit avored tobacco bans

Columbus, Ohio

An Ohio law prohibiting cities from banning the sale of avored tobacco products is unconstitutional, a judge has ruled. The state is expected to appeal the ruling by Franklin County Common Pleas Court Judge Mark Serrott, who had issued a temporary restraining order in April that stopped the law from taking e ect. The measure had become law in January after the Republican Legislature overrode GOP Gov. Mike DeWine’s veto of a budget measure that put regulatory powers in the hands of the state

ICC accuses Israeli, Hamas leaders of war crimes

Jerusalem

The International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor accused the heads of Israel and Hamas of war crimes and announced arrest warrants Monday against two Israeli leaders — including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and three Hamas leaders. The prosecutor focused on actions taken by Hamas on Oct. 7 when militants stormed southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people and taking some 250 hostages, and on Israel’s military response in Gaza, which has killed roughly 35,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health ministry.

ELI HARTMAN / ODESSA AMERICAN VIA AP

It’s

catastrophe

questions about when normal

China lied about the origin of the tried to tell the world there were only worldwide panic, economic collapse and being thrown out of work.

shelter-in-place or stay-at-home majority of Americans normal.” end of this month.

taxpayer at least $2.4 trillion in added Reserve backup liquidity to the the U.S. dollar were not the reserve fund any of these emergency of rampant in ation and currency

we begin to get back to normal

How China will pay for this COVID-19 catastrophe

fallen into place. I understand the seriousness of the virus and the need to take precautions, but I’m uneasy with how people who simply ask questions about the data, and when things can start getting back to normal are treated in some circles with contempt.

WALTER E. WILLIAMS

The comfort

The 3 big questions nobody

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”

ONE THING IS CERTAIN; after this COVID-19 virus dissipates around the globe and in the United States, China will pay for this catastrophe one way or another.

business & economy

Cooper stated during know yet” if the asked as to the vague ones like “we of this state who undetermined thousands of cases asked and then questions about asked, there is people to treat those start getting back are people who sick. levels become a bad society were supposed

They’re treated as though we as a society simply must accept without question what the government tells us about when it’s safe to begin the process of returning back to normalcy.

aberrant ways and decisions through Diplomacy has obviously not worked world of 21st century health, hygiene communist regimes never take the blame remorse, because that is not what take advantage of every weakness pushing until they win or the event happens such as the Chernobyl believe that event, not the Star Wars the dissolution of the Soviet Union Chernobyl.

Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Chernobyl.

n.c. FAST FACTS

Fixing college corruption

No. The government works for us, and we have the right to ask those questions. And the longer stay-at-home orders are in place all over the country, and the stricter some of them get in states, such as Michigan, the more people, sitting at home feeling isolated and/or anxious about when they can get back to providing for their families, will demand answers.

AMERICA’S COLLEGES are rife with corruption. The nancial squeeze resulting from COVID-19 o ers opportunities for a bit of remediation. Let’s rst examine what might be the root of academic corruption, suggested by the title of a recent study, “Academic Grievance Studies and the Corruption of Scholarship.” The study was done by Areo, an opinion and analysis digital magazine. By the way, Areo is short for Areopagitica, a speech delivered by John Milton in defense of free speech.

In order to put the crisis caused by China in perspective, zero worldwide pandemics can trace their source to the United States over our 231-year history. At least four in the 20th century alone can be directly traced to China: 1957 “Asian u,” 1968 “Hong Kong u,” 1977 “Russian u” and the 2002 SARS outbreak. There is evidence that the massive 1918 “Spanish u” pandemic also had its origins in China.

Leaders at the local and state levels should be as forthcoming as they can be with those answers — and again, not vague answers, but answer with details that give their statements believability.

already talking about the possibility debt we owe them as one way to get they have caused the US. Don’t hold your “Jubilee” to happen but ask your elected accountable in tangible nancial ways for expected to operate as responsible citizens of nation.

course, is my family. I’m worried I will. After 2009 pandemic, of this brings up prefer not to repeat. most everyone has

12 Rural hospitals have closed or converted since 2006

Not one little bit.

More than 100 hospitals have downsized services or closed altogether over the past decade in rural communities across the United States. In North Carolina, 12 rural hospitals have closed or been converted to di erent uses since 2006.

Authors Helen Pluckrose, James A. Lindsay and Peter Boghossian say that something has gone drastically wrong in academia, especially within certain elds within the humanities. They call these elds “grievance studies,” where scholarship is not so much based upon nding truth but upon attending to social grievances. Grievance scholars bully students, administrators and other departments into adhering to their worldview. The worldview they promote is neither scienti c nor rigorous. Grievance studies consist of disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, gender studies, queer studies, sexuality and critical race studies.

The cavalier manner in virus, covered up its spread 3,341 related deaths has millions of Americans needlessly

We should all continue to do what we can to keep our families, ourselves, and our communities safe. But we should also still continue to ask questions about the data, because while reasonable stay-at-home measures are understandable, they should also have an expiration date.

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

This is all new to Americans, and it is not normal. Not in any way, shape, or form. So while we should remain vigilant and stay safe, at the same time we shouldn’t get comfortable with this so-called “new normal.”

The most recent closure was Martin General Hospital in Williamston. The 43-bed hospital, operated by Quorum Health, was closed in 2023 and left Martin County without a hospital. Residents must now travel to Windsor, in adjacent Bertie County, or Greenville for hospital care.

Rural hospital closures have been consistently occurring in North Carolina, with eight hospitals listed as closed, according to a database maintained by the Center for Health Services Research at UNC Chapel Hill.

seriousness of the virus and the need uneasy with how people who simply ask when things can start getting back to with contempt.

In 2017 and 2018, authors Pluckrose, Lindsay and Boghossian started submitting bogus academic papers to academic journals in cultural, queer, race, gender, fat and sexuality studies to determine if they would pass peer review and be accepted for publication. Acceptance of dubious research that journal editors found sympathetic to their intersectional or postmodern leftist vision of the world would prove the problem of low academic standards.

a society simply must accept without tells us about when it’s safe to begin the normalcy. us, and we have the right to ask those stay-at-home orders are in place all over the them get in states, such as Michigan, feeling isolated and/or anxious about providing for their families, will demand levels should be as forthcoming as they again, not vague answers, but answer statements believability. what we can to keep our families, safe. But we should also still continue because while reasonable stay-at-home they should also have an expiration date. and it is not normal. Not in any way, should remain vigilant and stay safe, at comfortable with this so-called “new

Three hospitals — in Davie, Halifax and Richmond counties — closed in 2017. Our Community Hospital, in Scotland Neck in Halifax County, was converted into a rehabilitation facility, but the other two hospitals remain closed. Novant Health’s Franklin Medical Center, which closed in 2015, and Good Hope Hospital in Harnett County, which closed in 2006, have been converted into an urgent care facility and outpatient care facility, respectively.

Blowing Rock Hospital, which closed in 2013, was also converted into a nursing facility.

under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah RedState and Legal Insurrection.

Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.

Several of the fake research papers were accepted for publication. The Fat Studies journal published a hoax paper that argued the term bodybuilding was exclusionary and should be replaced with “fat bodybuilding, as a fat-inclusive politicized performance.” One reviewer said, “I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and believe it has an important contribution to make to the eld and this journal.”

Some hospitals in the state could be reopened or converted as Rural Emergency Hospitals under a 2021 federal program meant to reinforce access to outpatient medical services and reduce health disparities in areas that may not be able to sustain a full-service hospital. Small rural hospitals with no more than 50 beds became eligible in 2023 to apply for the rural emergency designation. No North Carolina hospitals have reopened under the program.

THIS WEEK, according to members of and state and local governments, Americans the curve in the novel coronavirus outbreak. muted — after all, trends can easily reverse have abided by recommendations and orders. to stay at home; they’ve practiced social distancing; they’ve donned masks.

Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.

There is 100% agreement, outside of China, that COVID-19 originated in Wuhan Province probably from the completely unregulated and unsanitary wet markets. Some believe it came out of a biowarfare lab run by the communist Chinese army.

Stacey Matthews has also written under the pseudonym Sister Toldjah and is a regular contributor to RedState and Legal Insurrection.

The federal government says utilities need to do more to protect drinking water

“Our Struggle Is My Struggle: Solidarity Feminism as an Intersectional Reply to Neoliberal and Choice Feminism,” was accepted for publication by A lia, a feminist journal for social workers. The paper consisted in part of a rewritten passage from Mein Kampf. Two other hoax papers were published, including “Rape Culture and Queer Performativity at Urban Dog Parks.” This paper’s subject was dog-on-dog rape. But the dog rape paper eventually forced Boghossian, Pluckrose and Lindsay to prematurely out themselves. A Wall Street Journal writer had gured out what they were doing.

By Michael Phillis and Matthew Daly The Associated Press

Until China adopts rigorous veri able policing and regulation of their food safety and health protocols, American business has no other choice than to build redundant manufacturing plants elsewhere purely for national security and safety reasons as well as supply and delivery reliability concerns.

“THIS IS in it” (Psalm I know that working from be glad” as the and dad, the have to be thankful pandemic.

The crisis has cost the debt plus trillions more in markets and nancial outlets. currency, we would not be measures without immediate depreciation.

We need transparency and honesty from our scienti c experts — we need to know what they know, what they don’t and when they hope to know what they don’t.

The result: a reduction in expected hospitalization

If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we must do this out of an abundance of caution.”

Some papers accepted for publication in academic journals advocated training men like dogs and punishing white male college students for historical slavery by asking them to sit in silence on the oor in chains during class and to be expected to learn from the discomfort. Other papers celebrated morbid obesity as a healthy life choice and advocated treating privately conducted masturbation as a form of sexual violence against women. Typically, academic journal editors send submitted papers out to referees for review. In recommending acceptance for publication, many reviewers gave these papers glowing praise.

Political scientist Zach Goldberg ran certain grievance studies concepts through the Lexis/Nexis database, to see how often they appeared in our press over the years. He found huge increases in the usages of “white privilege,” “unconscious bias,” “critical race theory” and “whiteness.” All of this is being taught to college students, many of whom become primary and secondary school teachers who then indoctrinate our young people.

I doubt whether the coronaviruscaused nancial crunch will give college and university administrators, who are a crossbreed between a parrot and jelly sh, the guts and backbone to restore academic respectability. Far too often, they get much of their political support from campus grievance people who are members of the faculty and diversity and multicultural administrative o ces.

Walter E. Williams is a professor of economics at George Mason University.

According to the University of Washington Metrics and Evaluation model most oft cited Trump administration, the expected need peak outbreak was revised down by over 120,000, ventilators by nearly 13,000 and the number August by nearly 12,000.

For me, my making. As Corinthians a iction, so a iction, with God.”

It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases are reliable.

The most direct way to make China “pay” for this disaster is to o er U.S. tax credits to companies who will source at least half of their production back in the United States. There is approximately $120 billion worth of American direct investment in plants and equipment in China. Chinese direct investment in the U.S. is about $65 billion by comparison.

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing?

That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Cyberattacks against water utilities across the country are becoming more frequent and more severe, the Environmental Protection Agency warned Monday as it issued an enforcement alert urging water systems to take immediate actions to protect the nation’s drinking water.

The best hope lies with boards of trustees, though many serve as yes-men for the university president. I think that a good start would be to nd 1950s or 1960s catalogs. Look at the course o erings at a time when college graduates knew how to read, write and compute, and make them today’s curricula. Another helpful tool would be to give careful consideration to eliminating all classes/majors/minors containing the word “studies,” such as women, Asian, black or queer studies. I’d bet that by restoring the traditional academic mission to colleges, they would put a serious dent into the COVID-19 budget shortfall.

About 70% of utilities inspected by federal o cials over the last year violated standards meant to prevent breaches or other intrusions, the agency said. O cials urged water systems to improve protections against hacks. Recent cyberattacks by groups a liated with

Daniel Forest Senior Advisor Michael Best Strategies LLC Daniel.Forest@michaelbest.com

An investment tax credit of 30% on half of U.S. investment in China today, or $60 billion, applied to repatriated American manufacturing investment to the U.S. would cost the U.S. Treasury $18 billion in tax revenue spread over a few years. $18 billion in lost revenue is decimal dust compared to the $6 trillion+ Marshall Plan we are now undertaking to save our own economy, not of defeated enemies as in the past.

To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about the data. State Republican leaders have, too.

Here’s the problem: We still don’t know questions that will allow the economy to reopen.

Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of hope that we will once again enjoy sporting events, concerts, family gatherings, church services and many more after our own temporary sacri ces are over.

China has to pay for their economic and nancial means. to bring China into the civilized and fair trade. Totalitarian or express sincere regret totalitarian governments they nd in adversaries and adversaries push back. That is, unless an exogenous meltdown in 1986. Some program of Reagan, led directly in 1989.

First, what is the true coronavirus fatality important because it determines whether be open or closed, whether we ought to pursue more liberalized society that presumes wide ought to lock down further.

Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.

If you are re ect on this God’s example this di cult con dent we In this same neighbors helping In Concord, money to buy health care workers

north STA

for Wednesday, Apr il 15, 2

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.

Perhaps COVID-19 is China’s Senators in Washington of China forgiving $1.2 trillion China to “pay” for the damage breath waiting for a Chinese representatives to hold China this disaster. It is about time they are the world like any other modern

We’ve seen case fatality rates — the number the number of identi ed COVID-19 cases and the denominator are likely wrong. We people have actually died of coronavirus. number has been overestimated, given that of death, particularly among elderly patients, sources suggest the number is dramatically many people are dying at home.

But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has

China has been cheating, stealing, pirating and pillaging American business now for the past 30 years. They have made no secret that they intend to replace the U.S. as the premier superpower in the world and replace the dollar as the reserve currency with their renminbi.

VISUAL VOICE S

Even more importantly, we have no clue actually have coronavirus. Some scientists of identi ed cases could be an order of magnitude number of people who have had coronavirus

It’s okay to ask questions about when we begin to get back

The comfort and hope

WITH MOST STATES under either shelter-in-place or stay-at-home orders thanks to local or state governments, a majority of Americans are having to adjust to what is being called the “new normal.”

Cyberattacks against local water supplies are rising

“THIS IS THE DAY the lord has made, in it” (Psalm 118:24).

war against Hamas.

Some of these orders extend at least through the end of this month. Virginia’s stay-at-home orders go into June.

Earlier this year, a Russian-linked “hacktivist” tried to disrupt operations at several Texas utilities.

Here in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper stated during a recent coronavirus press brie ng that “we just don’t know yet” if the state’s stay-at-home orders will extend into May.

Russia and Iran have targeted smaller communities.

fallen into place. I understand to take precautions, but I’m questions about the data, normal are treated in some

I know that during this challenging time working from home or losing a job, it may be glad” as the Bible tells us to do. However, and dad, the Easter holiday has reminded have to be thankful and hopeful for, even pandemic.

If he does decide to extend it, questions should be asked as to the justi cation for it. And the answers should not be vague ones like “we must do this out of an abundance of caution.”

It will need to be explained in detail to the people of this state who are being told to remain jobless and at home for an undetermined amount of time why models predicting hundreds of thousands of cases are reliable.

Attempts by private groups or individuals to get into a water provider’s network and take down or deface websites aren’t new. More recently, however, attackers have targeted utilities’ operations instead.

They’re treated as though question what the government process of returning back No. The government works questions. And the longer country, and the stricter the more people, sitting at when they can get back to answers.

For me, my faith is an important part of making. As I celebrated Easter with my family, Corinthians 1:4, which reminds us our Lord a iction, so that we may be able to comfort a iction, with the comfort which we ourselves God.”

A cyber group linked to China and known as Volt Typhoon has compromised information technology of multiple critical infrastructure systems, including drinking water, U.S. o cials said. Cybersecurity experts believe the China-aligned group is positioning itself for potential cyberattacks in the event of armed con ict.

To date, I’ve gone along with what the state has asked and then mandated that we do, but along the way I’ve also had questions about the data. State Republican leaders have, too.

Recent attacks are not just by private entities. Some recent hacks of water utilities are linked to geopolitical rivals and could lead to the disruption of the supply of safe water to homes and businesses.

Leaders at the local and can be with those answers with details that give their

If you are celebrating the Easter season, re ect on this message and be comforted, God’s example and comfort all those in need this di cult time. Through faith and by helping con dent we will emerge out of this pandemic

Unfortunately, when certain types of questions get asked, there is sometimes a disturbing tendency among some people to treat those simply questioning the data and asking when we can start getting back to normal as though they are conspiracy theorists or are people who otherwise don’t care if they get themselves or others sick.

Lenten and Easter seasons provide a message of hope that we will once again enjoy sporting events, concerts, family gatherings, church services and many more after our own temporary sacri ces are over.

Some water systems are falling short in basic ways, the alert said, including failure to change default passwords or cut o system access to former employees. Because water utilities often rely on computer software to operate treatment plants and distribution systems, protecting information technology and process controls is crucial, the EPA said. Possible impacts of cyberattacks include interruptions to water treatment and storage; damage to pumps and valves; and alteration of chemical levels to hazardous amounts, the agency said.

We should all continue ourselves, and our communities to ask questions about the measures are understandable,

In this same spirit, I continue to be inspired neighbors helping neighbors.

McCabe named China, Russia and Iran as the countries that are “actively seeking the capability to disable U.S. critical infrastructure, including water and wastewater.”

Since when did questioning government at all levels become a bad thing? That is what free citizens living in a free society were supposed to do, last I checked.

“In many cases, systems are not doing what they are supposed to be doing, which is to have completed a risk assessment of their vulnerabilities that includes cybersecurity and to make sure that plan is available and informing the way they do business,” said EPA Deputy Administrator Janet McCabe.

“By working behind the scenes with these hacktivist groups, now these (nation states) have plausible deniability.” said Dawn Cappelli, a cybersecurity expert with the industrial cybersecurity rm Dragos Inc. The world’s cyberpowers are believed to have worked for years planting malware that could be triggered to disrupt basic services.

This is all new to Americans, shape, or form. So while the same time we shouldn’t normal.”

In Concord, a high school senior named money to buy a 3-D printer and plastic to health care workers out of his own home.

Not one little bit.

My rst concern as we go along in all this, of course, is my family. I’m worried about them catching the virus, and I’m worried I will. After su ering from the H1N1 virus (swine u) during the 2009 pandemic, I’ve been trying to take extra precautions, because all of this brings up way too many memories of a painful experience I’d prefer not to repeat.

“We want to make sure that we get the word out to people that ‘Hey, we are nding a lot of problems here,’” McCabe said.

But what also makes me lose sleep is how easily most everyone has

Late last year, an Iranian-linked group called “Cyber Av3ngers” targeted multiple organizations including a small Pennsylvania town’s water provider, forcing it to switch from a remote pump to manual operations. They were going after an Israeli-made device used by the utility in the wake of Israel’s

Stacey Matthews has also and is a regular contributor

EPA did not say how many cyber incidents have occurred in recent years, and the number of attacks known to be successful so far is few.

Anna Scott Marsh Principal Michael Best Strategies LLC AnnaScott.Marsh@michaelbest.com

COLUMN | REP. RICHARD HUDSON

Jason

Nor th State Jour na l

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior

MUNICIPAL WATER AUTHORITY OF ALIQUIPPA VIA AP

A device in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, was hacked by an Iranian group in 2023.

Macy’s sales beat expectations

Consumers are shifting toward less expensive options

By Anne D’Innocenzio The Associated Press

NEW YORK — Macy’s sales and pro ts fell during the rst quarter as higher costs and other nancial challenges had customers pulling back on spending. But on Tuesday the rm’s quarterly results beat Wall Street expectations. And Macy’s, which also operates upscale Bloomingdale’s and beauty chain Bluemercury, said it is seeing a positive impact from its turnaround e orts that include closing underperforming stores and upgrading others. Macy’s also raised its annual outlook.

Americans are still spending, but they’re getting more selective and are also more likely to wait until something goes on sale. Retailers are also seeing higher delinquency rates in their credit card businesses.

Macy’s CEO Tony Spring, who took over in February, said all income groups are being more thoughtful with their spending. Bloomingdale’s, for example, registered weaker sales in luxury handbags and shoes as consumers shift to less expensive collections.

Higher-income customers

are focusing on their interests and passions, Spring said, while customers in the lower tier are starting to make choices increasingly with rent and family obligations in mind.

ting areas and shoe departments, and adding more visual displays.

Macy’s reported earnings of $62 million, or 22 cents per share for the quarter that ended May 4. That compares with $155 million, or 56 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Revenue dipped 2.7% to $4.85 billion, but that also topped analyst projections of $4.82 billion, Comparable store sales — those from online channels and established stores — fell 1.2%, excluding licensed businesses like cosmetics and its third-party marketplace.

Macy’s comparable sales fell 1.6%. Bluemercury comparable sales jumped 4.3% and Bloomingdale’s comparable sales rose 0.8%.

Macy’s said that its rst 50 traditional locations that have been revamped achieved comparable sales gains of 3.3% in the quarter, excluding licensed and third-party businesses. Spring calls them the “leading indicator” of its business in the future.

Struggling Red Lobster les for bankruptcy

Its “endless shrimp” promotion contributed to millions in losses

The Associated Press NEW YORK — Amid continuing losses and less than a week after it announced the closure of 50 restaurants, seafood chain Red Lobster has led for bankruptcy. In a press release, the rm said the Chapter 11 ling was voluntary and intended to “strengthen nancial position and maximize value for stakeholders.”

Dozens of Red Lobster locations across the U.S. were put on the chopping block last week with Restaurant liquidator TAGeX Brands announcing the auction of equipment from over 50 Red Lobsters. Following that announcement, the rm also announced the closure of 90 locations, including four in North Carolina: Burlington, Cary, Durham and Rocky Mount.

Red Lobster also announced it has entered into a “stalking horse” purchase agreement to sell its business to an entity

formed and controlled by its existing term lenders.

Red Lobster has been struggling for some time. With lease and labor costs piling up in recent years, the Chapter 11 ling could help the chain exit from some long-term contracts and renegotiate many of its leases.

“This restructuring is the best path forward for Red Lobster,” said Jonathan Tibus, the company’s CEO. “It allows us to address several nancial and operational challenges and emerge stronger and re-focused on our growth.”

The case was led in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Florida with King & Spalding, one of the nation’s largest law rms, representing the company along with several other law rms and nancial advisers.

Maintaining stable management has proven di cult, with the company seeing multiple ownership changes over its 56year history. Earlier this year, Red Lobster co-owner Thai Union Group, one of the world’s largest seafood suppliers, announced its intention to exit its minority investment in the

Macy’s is accelerating the expansion of its new, small-format stores while closing locations where sales have lagged.

The company is opening 30 small-format locations through

“I expect the consumer to remain under pressure,” Spring said during a call with industry analysts Tuesday. “We’ve got a big year in front of us. Maybe there will be rate cuts. But it’s an uncertain environment, and I think our job is not to assume anything di erent on the things we don’t control.”

the fall of 2025, nearly tripling the current count to roughly 42. Macy’s believes the smaller stores are more convenient for customers. It’s closing 150 unproductive stores over the next three years, a third of them by the end of 2024. At the same time, Macy’s is upgrading its remaining 350 traditional stores, adding more salespeople to t-

Quarterly credit card revenues declined by $45 million to $117 million, Macy’s said, in part due to higher delinquency rates.

Macy’s is under pressure by investors to accelerate growth. In April, it named two independent directors to its board backed by Arkhouse Management, ending for now a push by the activist investor to replace most of the board and, eventually, acquire the iconic department store chain.

Lobster announced it has led for bankruptcy.

dining chain. For the rst nine months of 2023, the Thailand company reported a $19 million share loss from Red Lobster.

And then there’s been the problem of endless shrimp. Last year, Red Lobster signi cantly expanded its iconic all-you-can-

eat shrimp deal. But customer demand overwhelmed what the chain could a ord, which also reportedly contributed to the millions in losses.

Red Lobster’s roots date back to 1968, when the rst restaurant opened in Lakeland, Flor-

ida. In the decades following, the chain expanded rapidly. Red Lobster currently touts more than 700 locations worldwide. Red Lobster’s remaining restaurants will be open and operating as usual during the Chapter 11 process.

CHARLES KRUPA / AP PHOTO

Pedestrians pass a Macy’s store in Boston in 2021.

WILFREDO LEE / AP PHOTO

Red

The actress famously voiced a ctional AI assistant in the 2013 lm “Her”

By Wyatte Grantham-Philips The Associated Press

NEW YORK — OpenAI on Monday said it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices that “Her” actor Scarlett Johansson says sounds “eerily similar” to her own.

In a post on the social media platform X, OpenAI said it is “working to pause” Sky — the name of one of ve voices that ChatGPT users can choose to speak with. The company said it had “heard questions” about how it selects the lifelike audio options available for its agship arti cial intelligence chatbot, particularly Sky, and wanted to address them.

Among those raising questions was Johansson, who famously voiced a ctional, and at the time futuristic, AI assistant in the 2013 lm “Her.”

Johansson issued a statement saying that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had approached her in September asking her if she would lend her voice to the

system, saying he felt it would be “comforting to people” not at ease with the technology. She said she declined the o er.

“When I heard the released demo, I was shocked, angered and in disbelief that Mr. Altman would pursue a voice that sounded so eerily similar to

Domino’s plans to donate $174 million from the program to St. Jude Children’s Hospital

By James Pollard

The Associated Press

YORK

NEW

— The world’s top-selling pizza chain is betting big on the generosity of its customers. And it is not alone.

Domino’s recently pledged $174 million over the next 10 years to bene t St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, expecting the funds to come from its longstanding roundup campaign that invites customers to donate the di erence between their purchase total and the next-highest dollar amount. The pizza chain has already raised more than $126 million this way across the past two decades for ALSAC, the fundraising vehicle for the Tennessee-based hospital.

Domino’s is the latest and largest example of “checkout charity” success. The fundraising tool raked in 24% more money in 2022 than 2020 among the highest-making programs for a total of $749 million, according to the professional association Engage for Good.

That staying power has franchises hopeful that consumers will continue giving their spare change despite shifts toward online shopping, negative economic headwinds and fears that more frequent solicitations will cause fatigue. Meanwhile, some retailers are eshing out partnerships rst formed after the 2020 racial reckoning pushed corporate citizenship toward the forefront of business practices.

Studies suggest that asking

customers to round up is generally more e ective than requesting a xed amount — even when the totals are the same. That’s because the framing lessens the sting of parting with one’s money, according to a paper published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

“It feels less painful,” said Katie Kelting, a Saint Louis University marketing professor who led the research team.

The timing of the appeal introduces several other psychologically potent factors, according to Ike Silver, a marketing professor at Northwestern University. Buyers tend to imagine their purchases in whole numbers anyway; a $24.75 bill codes as $25, for example.

Plus, Silver said, it makes the act of giving “a bit more mindless.” Shoppers rushing to get through the checkout line don’t have much time to consider reasons against the donation.

“They capitalize on a purchase inertia where you’re just spending your money and you’re not really thinking too much about it,” Silver said.

Champions of the strategy credit the asks for engaging everyday, would-be donors in an approachable form of giving with low barriers to entry. The practice is so commonplace that shoppers’ cumulative gifts have even become a key funding stream for some issue areas.

REI Co-op, a specialty outdoor clothing and equipment seller, launched its member-supported public charity in 2021 to help make outdoor spaces more inclusive. The goal was to put more resources into the surrounding communities coming out of COVID-19 shutdowns.

At its 185 U.S. locations, sales associates often strike up per-

mine that my closest friends and news outlets could not tell the di erence,” Johansson said. She said OpenAI “reluctantly” agreed to take down the Sky voice after she hired lawyers who wrote Altman letters asking about the process by which the company came up

with the voice.

OpenAI had moved to debunk the internet’s theories about Johansson in a blog post accompanying its earlier announcement aimed at detailing how ChatGPT’s voices were chosen. The company wrote that it believed AI voices “should not deliberately mimic a celebrity’s distinctive voice” and that the voice of Sky belongs to a “different professional actress.” But it added that it could not share the name of that professional for privacy reasons.

In a statement sent to The Associated Press following Johansson’s response late Monday, Altman said that OpenAI cast the voice actor behind Sky “before any outreach” to Johansson.

“The voice of Sky is not Scarlett Johansson’s, and it was never intended to resemble hers,” Altman said. “Out of respect for Ms. Johansson, we have paused using Sky’s voice in our products. We are sorry to Ms. Johansson that we didn’t communicate better.”

San Francisco-based OpenAI rst rolled out voice capabilities for ChatGPT, which included the ve di erent voices, in September, allowing users to engage in back-to-forth conversation with the AI assistant.

“Voice Mode” was originally just available to paid subscribers, but in November, OpenAI announced that the feature would become free for all users with the mobile app.

sonal conversations with customers and are supposed to leave the conversation with an open-ended ask that lets customers decide whether to round up or donate an amount of their choosing. About $2.2 million from 1.3 million individual donations were raised in stores last year, according to Simpson.

Still, some observers are worried that even the best of intentions won’t keep the spigot from stopping as like-minded programs pop up in checkout lines around the country. Silver, the Northwestern University professor, questions whether the effectiveness of “checkout charity” will wane with its popularity.

“If it’s really something that’s coming up every time you swipe your card, one risk is people start to notice that and feel a bit more manipulated,” he said.

Misinformation does not help either. Contrary to popular internet posts, tax policy experts say that stores can’t write o customers’ point-of-sale donations because they don’t count as company income.

U.S. poised to preserve heavy tari s on imports

President Joe Biden and Donald Trump agree on essentially nothing, but on trade policy, the two presumptive presidential nominees have embraced surprisingly similar approaches. Which means that whether Biden or Trump wins the presidency, the United States seems poised to maintain a protectionist trade policy — one that experts say could feed in ation pressures. The views of the two presidential contenders re ect the widespread belief that opening the nation to more imports — especially from China — wiped out American manufacturing jobs and shuttered factories. It’s an especially potent political topic in the Midwestern industrial states that could decide who wins the White House.

FDIC chairman to step down

The chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will step down from his post once a successor is appointed. The White House said Monday that President Joe Biden will name a replacement for Martin Gruenberg “soon” and called for the Senate to quickly con rm the person’s nomination. Gruenberg’s announced departure comes after a damning report about the agency’s toxic workplace culture was released earlier this month and political pressure from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, who called for his resignation earlier Monday.

AI summit opens in Seoul

es, the established partners are already among the most recognizable when it comes to pointof-sale donations.

Domino’s raised $8.9 million last year through roundup. Its leadership believes that number will increase under a new veyear strategy to grow its customer base.

Described by CEO Russell Weiner as “an audacious goal” that isn’t necessarily a “slam dunk,” the high-dollar charitable commitment adds another motivator to meet its latest nonpro t benchmarks.

ALSAC CEO Rick Shadyac said the extra Domino’s funding will help St. Jude’s e orts to triple the survival rate for children with the six most common forms of childhood cancer in 80 countries. That includes this summer’s rollout of a program that will eventually provide free cancer medications to 30% of the 400,000 children around the world with the disease.

Domino’s leaders remain condent in their ne-tuned strategy. With the iconic St. Jude child printed on Domino’s pizza box-

“If we drive more sales and more stores, what does that mean? That means we have more customers,” Weiner said.

“The better we do there, the more people we’ve got that we can raise money for St. Jude.” PETER MORGAN / AP PHOTO Domino’s customers can donate to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital while ordering food on the company’s app.

The world’s leading arti cial intelligence companies pledged at the start of a mini summit on AI to develop the technology safely, including pulling the plug if they can’t rein in the most extreme risks. Some 16 AI companies made voluntary commitments to AI safety as the talks got underway. World leaders are expected to hammer out further agreements on arti cial intelligence when they gather virtually Tuesday to discuss AI’s potential risks but also ways to promote its bene ts and innovation. The two-day AI Seoul Summit co-hosted by the South Korean and U.K. governments is a follow-up to November’s AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in the United Kingdom.

JOEL RYAN / INVISION VIA AP

Scarlett Johansson, pictured in 2015, questioned whether ChatGPT used her voice without the actress’ permission.

eastbound and down

Self-driving big rigs are here

By Jordan Golson North State Journal

FOR THE LAST DECADE, it has felt like fully autonomous cars have been about ve years away. Today, it often still feels like they are ve years away, but every once in a while, we get a big step forward to remind us that this technology actually is progressing.

Today, it comes from Aurora — an autonomous tech company co-founded by Sterling Anderson, who used to run Tesla’s self-driving team.

For years, Aurora has been quietly working on a self-driving tractor-trailer platform that could revolutionize how cargo is moved around the country. Through partnerships with companies like FedEx and Schneider, Aurora-powered trucks have been driving themselves all over Texas, moving actual real-world cargo, completely autonomously (albeit with a safety driver behind the wheel).

Aside from the “easy” problems of ensuring a truck weighing 80,000 pounds stays in its lane and doesn’t hit the car in front of it, the Aurora team has also been solving more complex issues like when and how to pull over to the side of the road safely without causing problems with the shoulder, what to do when the highway is suddenly closed, or how to handle being pulled over by law enforcement.

These are all truck-speci c challenges, but ones that must be overcome to deliver a nal, commercial-ready product. That product is about to arrive.

The new Volvo VNL Autonomous takes the proven agship of Volvo Trucks (the company no longer has any connection to the Chinese-owned Swedish carmaker, but kept the name after a corporate split) and equips it with a full suite of Aurora tech and software.

The end result is a Transport-

as-a-Service model that will allow customers to buy autonomous cargo movement rather than purchasing a truck outright. Instead of needing to provide its own employees to drive the rig, FedEx will pay an all-inone price that includes the software, support and technology needed to make the VNL Autonomous work.

It’s designed for hub-to-hub tra c, running from, say, a Houston FedEx warehouse to another FedEx facility in Dallas and back again. Companies might run dozens of these routes every day, moving freight around in predictable ways — something perfect for an autonomous system to handle. The routes would be easily mapped, and, perhaps more crucially, as warehouses are typically located close to major interstates, the trucks wouldn’t need to navigate much by way of surface streets.

The Aurora Driver, the name for its self-driving platform, is an amalgamation of redundant computers, cameras, radar and an in-house lidar sensor that combine to allow the Driver to navigate the world. Aurora says it has traveled 1.5 million real-world miles already, on top of many times that in simulation.

It has handled both interstates and rural highways, even operating at night and in bad weather.

While companies like Tesla get most of the attention with products like “full self-driving,” out ts like Aurora (and, it must be said, Google’s Waymo) have quietly been working to solve real-world problems.

Far from AI putting everyone out of a job, autonomous trucking has the potential to make a real-world impact on pricing.

Freight costs — particularly labor — have a signi cant impact on the price of goods, and autonomous truck drivers have the potential to reduce those costs in a major way.

The announcement with Volvo brings self-driving trucks another step closer to reality. While you’re right to ask questions about safety, both Aurora and

Volvo are safety-obsessed and are doing everything possible to get it right.

“We built the Volvo VNL Autonomous from the ground up, integrating these redundancy systems to ensure that every safety-critical component is intentionally duplicated, thereby signi cantly enhancing both safety and reliability,” said Shahrukh Kazmi, Chief Product O cer at Volvo Autonomous Solutions.

That boring, corporatized answer basically translates to: We have two of everything — which is more than can be said for a

truck being driven by a human.

The trucking industry continues to experience a shortage of drivers, and this partnership between Volvo and Aurora could help alleviate that challenge.

The Volvo VNL Autonomous is built at Volvo’s agship New River Valley plant in Dublin, Virginia, on the same assembly line as the company’s other VNL trucks, and the company promises to be able to meet industry demand for the vehicle.

And, if things work out like Aurora expects, there will be plenty of demand to go around.

It’s designed for hub-to-hub tra c, like going from a Houston FedEx warehouse to another FedEx facility in Dallas and back again.

Volvo Trucks and Aurora partner up on the VNL Autonomous

PHOTOS COURTESY AURORA

First look at Panthers’ schedule, B3

Get to the chopper

A helicopter carrying driver Kyle Larson lands just outside of North Wilkesboro Speedway. Larson, who started the day qualifying for the Indianapolis 500, made the wild 530-mile trip to arrive just over an hour before driving to a fth-place nish in the All-Star Race.

Read about Larson’s hectic day on B4.

Logano posts dominating win in All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro

MLS Charlotte’s Kahlina untouchable in scoreless draw

Charlotte goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina nished with ve saves for his fourth clean sheet in a row, but Novak Micovic stopped both shots he faced for the Los Angeles Galaxy in a scoreless draw Saturday. Charlotte (6 - 5 -3) was aiming for its rst four -match win streak.

GAMBLING

North Carolina sports wagers top $1 billion

Online sports wagering in North Carolina has exceeded $1 billion since authorized gambling operators could take bets starting March 11. The State Lottery Commission released a report saying that through April 30 the wagering amount reached $1.3 billion when promotional wagers were included. Customers have generated winnings of more than $1.1 billion during that time, leaving the operators with $172 million.

NFL

NFL distances itself from Butker’s commencement speech comments

The NFL distanced itself from Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker, saying “his views are not those of the NFL.” Butker, a seventh-round pick of the Panthers in 2017, served as the commencement speaker at Benedictine College last week and said most of the women receiving degrees were probably more excited about getting married and having children.

Tire management helped the Team Penske driver throw a near shutout, leading 199 of 200 laps

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

NORTH WILKESBORO —

Joey Logano was able to put his struggles of the 2024 season behind him and deliver a dominating win in the NASCAR AllStar Race at North Wilkesboro.

Logano set an all-star record by pitching a near shutout — leading for 199 out of 200 laps and turning in a masterful performance, winning the million-dollar exhibition for the rst time since 2016.

The win helped relieve some of the frustration from a year that has not gone Logano’s way very often. He entered the race ranked No. 17, which, if the sea-

Busy o season awaits Hurricanes

Carolina got coach Rod Brind’Amour signed to an extension but has plenty more to consider this summer

By Cory Lavalette North State Journal

RALEIGH — Change, they say, is inevitable. It’s certainly coming for the Carolina Hurricanes this o season. After the Hurricanes’ shocking exit from the playo s following a blown two-goal, third-period lead in Game 6 against the New York Rangers last Thursday, focus immediately turned to the summer and the work ahead for Don Waddell, the team’s president and general manager. Waddell took care of his biggest bit of business rst, getting coach Rod Brind’Amour to agree to a multiyear extension that also included new deals for the team’s assistants and sta .

“The number one priority for us was to make sure that we got Rod taken care of,” Waddell said at Monday’s end-of-season press conference. “And Rod’s got a great team that he picked, his coaches. It was important

for Rod and for myself to make sure that we have them all under contract moving forward. So the whole coaching sta will be back, and we’re excited about that.” Brind’Amour has led Carolina

son ended today, would be his worst ranking since 2017. He hadn’t won a race, his rst time getting blanked since the 2011 season, and his one top- ve nish and three top 10s would be his worst since 2008 — his rookie year.

“It’s been a challenging year, no doubt,” Logano said. “It feels good. It’s funny because the rst thing that goes through your mind is, ‘Gosh, I wish this counted for points.’ But let’s be honest, a million bucks is a lot of money, and it counts for something.”

Logano credited his team, who was able to manage a number of variables to put together the near-perfect performance. North Wilkesboro was running its rst race on the newly repaved track — the rst time the speedway has gotten a new surface since 1981. Goodyear also o ered drivers a See LOGANO, page B4

to the postseason in each of his six seasons as coach, winning at least one playo round in each of those years and taking the team to the Eastern Conference nal twice.

Brind’Amour ranks 60th all time in coaching wins with a 278-130-44 regular season record, and his .615 winning percentage is the best among coaches with at least 300 games behind the bench.

It has been reported that Brind’Amour’s contract is for ve years, though some of those years might be option years for either the team or Brind’Amour.

“It’s a multiyear deal and we’re going to be around for a while,” Brind’Amour said Monday. “So that’s kind of just how I want to leave it. … It’s hard for me to envision just doing this anywhere else. That’s really the bottom line.”

Waddell’s work is far from done.

The Hurricanes have nine NHL contributors slated for unrestricted free agency and ve more restricted free agents. Defensemen Brett Pesce,

SHAWN KREST / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP PHOTO

Hurricanes defense partners Brady Skjei, center, and Brett Pesce, left, could both be unrestricted free agents on July 1.

CHUCK BURTON / AP PHOTO

Joey Logano celebrates in Victory Lane after winning Sunday’s NASCAR All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

TRENDING

Kevin Cash:

The Tampa Bay Rays manager took full responsibility for losing track of the number of mound visits in the ninth inning of a game against the Red Sox. Cash, a Durham Bulls player in 2005 and 2006, sent pitching coach Kyle Snyder — a former Tar Heel — to the mound, but Tampa Bay was out of visits. After a long delay, the Rays were forced to change pitchers.

Brandon Bielak:

The Houston Astros right-hander, a Buies Creek Astro in 2018, was traded to the Oakland Athletics for cash. Oakland designated for assignment left-hander Easton Lucas to create 40-man roster room for Bielak, who had been designated himself on Saturday to created space for right-hander Cristian Javier on the active roster. Javier played parts of two season in Buies Creek and one in Fayetteville.

Taylor Swift:

The music superstar will be performing her Eras Tour in Toronto from Nov. 14 to Nov. 27, but the NFL denies that her location was a factor in scheduling the Kansas City Chiefs — team of Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce — for a game in Bu alo on Nov. 17. Internet conspiracy theories accused the NFL of giving Kelce and the Chiefs special treatment.

Beyond the box score

POTENT QUOTABLES

“I hope you all keep that same energy when I knock this old man out.”

Jake Paul on Mike Tyson. The YouTube star ghts the former heavyweight champion on July 20.

“We hope to keep him a Hurricane for life.”

Hurricanes GM Don Waddell after signing coach Rod Brind’Amour, pictured, to a new multiyear contract.

PRIME NUMBER

Number of prime-time games for the Carolina Panthers on the 2024 NFL schedule, released last week. They are the only team in the league to be shut out. The Patriots, Titans, Raiders, Cardinals and Colts each have one appearance.

HORSE RACING

Seize the Grey won the Preakness Stakes for 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas. His victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid. Lukas has saddled more horses in the Preakness than anyone in the race’s 149-year history. He has won the middle leg of the Triple Crown seven times and is one back of the record held by Bob Ba ert. Mystik Dan nished second.

Xander Schau ele won his rst major with a thrilling win at the PGA Championship. Schau ele made a 6-foot birdie putt on the last hole at Valhalla for a one-shot victory over Bryson DeChambeau. Schau ele nished at 21-under 263, breaking by one shot the major championship record.

Houston pitcher Ronel Blanco, a Buies Creek Astro in 2017 and 2018, received a 10-game suspension for violating MLB rules prohibiting foreign substances. Blanco will not appeal. Blanco was ejected after umpire Erich Bacchus found a foreign substance he said was “the stickiest stu ” he’d felt on a glove.

The NASCAR All-Star Race is staying in North Wilkesboro. Speedway o cials announced the short track will host the All-Star Race for the third straight year on May 18, 2025. NASCAR returned to the refurbished racetrack last year for the rst time since 1996. The track has been repaved over the last year.

PGA

MLB

JEFF ROBERSON / AP PHOTO

DAVID J. PHILLIP / AP PHOTO

SAM HODDE / AP PHOTO

KARL B. DEBLAKER / AP PHOTO

JULIA NIKHINSON / AP PHOTO

KELLEY / AP

Local athletes put skills on display for teams at NBA Draft Combine

North Carolina athletes are getting evaluated before the NBA Draft in June

By Asheebo Rojas North State Journal

THE NBA HELD its draft combine from May 12 to Sunday, showcasing 78 invitees in speed, agility and shooting drills and live scrimmages. Multiple athletes from North Carolina’s college programs and natives of the hoop state participated in some capacity as the new collective bargaining agreement required all invited players to attend and participate in the combine in order to be eligible for the draft starting this year.

Players have until May 29 to withdraw from the draft.

Before their names get called from June 26-27, here a quick rundown of how North Carolina’s local athletes performed in this year’s draft combine:

Kyle Filipowski (Duke)

Lane agility: 11.43 seconds; Shuttle run: 2.93 seconds; Three quarter sprint: 3.19 seconds; Max vertical leap: 32.5 inches

2023-24 stats: 16.4 points per game, 8.3 rebounds per game, 2.8 assists per game, 1.5 blocks per game, 34.8% 3-point percentage

Former Duke star Kyle Filipowski showed decent athleticism, considering his recorded height of 6 feet, 10.75 inches without shoes and weight

of 229.8 pounds. He did well in the moving shooting drills, shooting 56% in the 3-point star drill which tied with two other power forwards for the fourthbest performance in his position. However, Filipowski didn’t do as well in the spot up shooting drill as he shot just 44%. Filipowski did not participate in the scrimmages. He’s projected to be a mid- to late rst round pick.

Harrison Ingram (North Carolina)

Lane agility: 11.36 seconds; Shuttle run: 2.94 seconds; Three quarter sprint: 3.17 seconds; Max vertical leap: 35.0 inches

2023-24 stats: 12.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.4 steals per game, 38.5% 3-point percentage

Former UNC forward Harrison Ingram had a decent showing in the shooting drills, shooting 64% from 3 in the spot up drill, 56.7% o the dribble and 52% in the star drill. Standing at 6 feet, 5.25 inches without shoes, Ingram isn’t the tallest small forward in the draft, but he has a more solid build and favorable length, weighing in at 233.6 pounds and stretching out with a 7-foot wingspan. Ingram also impressed in the scrimmages, scoring 14 points on a 57% shooting clip, including three made 3-pointers, on day one. On day two, he struggled from the eld, but Ingram contributed in other ways as he grabbed six rebounds and dished out six as-

sists. He’s projected to be a late rst round to early second round pick in this year’s draft.

Jared McCain (Duke)

Lane agility: 10.87 seconds; Shuttle run: 3.07 seconds; Three quarter sprint: 3.23 seconds; Max vertical leap: 33.0 inches

2023-24 stats: 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, 41.4% 3-point percentage

Former Duke guard Jared McCain put his strengths to work in the combine drills. Known for his ability to knock down the deep ball, he made 19 out of 25 3-point attempts in a

3-pointers, in 25 attempts, for Jared McCain, tops among shooting guards at the combine

spot up shooting drill which was the best performance out of all shooting guards. He didn’t have the most impressive size in his position group as he measured in at 6 feet, 2 inches tall with a 6-foot, 3.5-inch wingspan. How-

ever, his value as a scorer could make him a solid roster piece. McCain also did not participate in the scrimmages, but he’s expected to be a mid- rst round pick.

Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest)

Lane agility: 10.82 seconds; Shuttle run: 3.16 seconds; Three quarter sprint: 3.11 seconds; Max vertical leap: 36.0 inches

2023-24 stats: 18.0 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.1 steals, 40.5% 3-point percentage

Hunter Sallis, former Wake Forest guard, displayed solid athleticism, and he had a great showing in the spot up shooting drill, making 18 out of 25 3-point attempts. He also did well at shooting o the dribble, shooting 73.3% in that drill. Sallis didn’t do as well in the moving shooting drills, yet he’s a solid defender who can be a valuable shot maker on the next level. His draft projection is less certain as he’s predicted to be a late rst round to mid-second round pick.

Rob Dillingham (Kentucky)

2023-24 stats: 15.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.0 steals, 44.4% 3-point percentage

Hickory, North Carolina, native and former Kentucky standout Rob Dillingham measured in at just 6 feet and 1 inch tall without shoes, and he recorded a 6-foot, 3-inch wingspan at the combine. In a league increasingly reliant on size, Dillingham’s measurements for a point guard aren’t ideal, but he’s still projected to be a top-10 pick in the draft. Due to a minor injury, Dillingham didn’t participate in the strength and agility and shooting drills, nor did he participate in the scrimmages.

Panthers’ 2024 schedule presents opportunities, challenges

Carolina will look to put last season’s 2-15 record in the past

By Jesse Deal North State Journal

CHARLOTTE — With last week’s release of the 2024 NFL schedule, the Carolina Panthers got a glimpse of the competition they’ll be up against in their inaugural season under new coach Dave Canales.

Beginning with the season opener on Sept. 8, the team will aim to improve from last season’s 2-15 record, reinvigorate 2023 No. 1 draft pick and second-year quarterback Bryce Young, and inject some hope into a franchise ailed by six consecutive losing seasons.

Considering that Carolina is the current betting underdog in all 17 of its games, the NFL league o ce seemingly took note of the team’s lowly state in terms of watchability — the Panthers are the only squad in the league without a prime-time game, not counting a Week 10 morning matchup with the New York Giants in Germany.

However, the results of the Panthers’ schedule release could provide the team’s fan base a spoonful of optimism with an equal dose of measured caution. Historically, prime-time games haven’t been Carolina’s forte, and the slate of opponents lined up to challenge the Panthers could be far worse.

“I do love playing on Sunday. You know what you’re doing Friday at home, and you know what you’re doing on Saturday,” Canales said in a behind-the-scenes

CANES from page B1

Brady Skjei, Jalen Chat eld and Tony DeAngelo are all unrestricted free agents — and three are ranked among the top 24 players available this summer in DailyFaceo .com’s list of Top 50 UFAs. Skjei is poised to be the top defenseman on the market, and given the likelihood Carolina will work on a long-term extension with Jaccob Slavin while having top prospect Alexander Nikishin in the wings, the Hurricanes have little room on the left side to pay Skjei the hefty and lengthy contract he should get.

“I think I just want a fair o er,

pass

schedule release reaction video posted by the team.

“All the games are on Sunday … normal weeks every week,” added Brandt Tillis, Carolina’s executive vice president of football operations.

Based on 2023 winning percentage, Carolina has the fourth-easiest strength of schedule — only higher than Chicago and NFC South rivals New Orleans and Atlanta. The Panthers are set to play 10 of the teams with the 14 worst records in the league last season.

As a counterpoint, however, three of the team’s weakest opponents on paper (Washington,

probably, is the biggest thing,” Skjei said Saturday. “We’ll see what that looks like.” Pesce, Skjei’s longtime defense partner, can also be an unrestricted free agent for the rst time.

Despite since-deleted tweets by his father that his son will be playing elsewhere next season, Pesce hinted that he was open to working with the Hurricanes on a “team-friendly” extension.

“It kind of just depends what you value,” Pesce said Saturday. “I’ve been through both ends where our team wasn’t very good to now. It’s much easier to go to the rink every day and do what you love (when you’re winning).”

Las Vegas and Denver) will each get to play the Panthers on their home eld.

Carolina’s 2024 preseason consists of a road trip to New England followed by a home game with the New York Jets and a return back to the Northeast to face Bu alo.

The regular season kicks o in New Orleans with a road game against a familiar divisional opponent in the Saints before returning to Bank of America Stadium for a home opener against new head coach Jim Harbaugh and his San Diego Chargers.

The Panthers will then head to Las Vegas to face the Raid-

“I think I just want a fair o er, probably, is the biggest thing. We’ll see what that looks like.”

Brady Skjei, Hurricanes defenseman

Chat eld, who became a regular last season and then wrestled the No. 6 job from DeAngelo this season, also has leverage and, at age 28, should see this as his best chance to cash in.

“We’ve got one of the best D

ers in Week 3 and round out the month of September with a home matchup versus Cincinnati.

Five of Carolina’s rst eight games of the season take place on the road, coming to a head in October when it will be the visiting team in Chicago (Oct. 6), Washington (Oct. 20) and Denver (Oct. 27). Only a Week 6 home contest with NFC South favorite Atlanta provides the Panthers a chance to play in front of their home crowd that month.

Reacting to the real-time announcement of Carolina’s matchup against the Bears, Panthers defensive end Derrick Brown looked over at Young next to

corps in the league,” Waddell said. “We’d like to keep them together.” The Hurricanes also have the No. 2 player on Daily Faceo ’s big board in Jake Guentzel, the highest pro le of several Carolina forwards who could head to market.

Waddell gave up Michael Bunting, two prospects and a second-round pick for Guentzel at the trade deadline, and he rewarded Carolina with 25 points in 17 regular season games and nine more in 11 playo games with the Hurricanes.

Guentzel turns 30 on Oct. 6 and has already turned aside a team-friendly extension o er

him and remarked: “Chicago on Week 5. That’s the No. 1 pick versus the No. 1 pick; that’s primetime.”

It is a game that will likely attract the eyes of neutral observers hoping to appraise the backto-back top draft picks, as Young will face o in that game against rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

After another meeting with the Saints — this time in Charlotte — on Nov. 3, Carolina is faced with a pair of special contests separated by a Week 11 bye: a 9:30 a.m. kicko in Munich against the Giants on Nov. 10 and a home meeting with defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City on Nov. 24.

That Week 12 game with the Chiefs is the rst of four consecutive games against 2023 playo teams, starting with Kansas City before a visit from Tampa Bay at home (Dec. 1), Philadelphia on the road (Dec. 8) and Dallas at home (Dec. 15).

This increase in di culty provides a contrast to the rst two months of the schedule when the Panthers won’t see a team that made the playo s in 2023 until after the bye.

Moving ahead, Weeks 16-18 will give Carolina opportunities at home versus Arizona (Dec. 22) before nishing the regular season with divisional road trips to Tampa Bay (Dec. 29) and Atlanta (TBD).

Coming o a two-win season with the worst record in the NFL, the Panthers now have an opportunity to regroup under the leadership of a new coach and attempt at making some strides in overall team development.

from the Penguins, which led to him being dealt at the deadline. He’d probably be unlikely to give Carolina a discount either, and a seven- or eight-year contract in the neighborhood of $9 million annually is probably his price point.

“I just loved my time here, and we’re gonna see what happens in the next little bit here,” Guentzel said Saturday.

Teuvo Teravainen, Jordan Martinook, Stefan Noesen and Antti Raanta are also unrestricted free agents, and Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Jack Drury all need new deals as restricted free agents.

NICK WASS / AP PHOTO

Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis reacts after scoring during the ACC Tournament in March. Sallis turned in a strong shooting performance at the NBA Draft Combine.

BRYAN WOOLSTON / AP PHOTO

Bryce Young (9) throws an o -balanced

against the Giants in a preseason game last August. Young and the Panthers will meet the Giants again this season, this time in a regular season game in Germany.

Local coach, Paralympian McKinney inducted into National Soccer Hall of Fame

McKinney has coached in the NCFC Youth program for over 10 years

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

IT WAS NEVER easy for Josh McKinney.

Born with cerebral palsy, which primarily a ected the right side of his body, McKinney faced more challenges than the average person when it came to playing sports.

Simple tasks like running were something he had to work hard at every day just to be able to compete with his peers.

Yet through his determination and dedication, he made his dreams a reality.

And after a nearly 20-year international career that saw him captain the U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy (CP) National Team more than 70 times as well score 81 goals, McKinney was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame earlier this month.

The West Virginia-born Raleigh transplant was part of the 2024 class alongside U.S. National Team and English Premier League goalkeeper Tim Howard and 1999 World Cup champion Tisha Venturini-Hoch.

“Being inducted into that class, with obviously three legends of the game, is an honor and privilege,” McKinney told North State Journal. “It was an amazing experience. Just walking into the museum and just kind of seeing everyone else that’s been inducted before me and just kind of seeing my jersey. It’s something you don’t think about when you’re playing, but to get that recognition, it’s an awesome feeling.”

McKinney, who is also a member of the North Carolina Soccer Hall of Fame, is also the rst member of the U.S. Extended National Teams to be inducted into the

National Hall of Fame.

“It’s great for all future athletes with disabilities or extended national team athletes,” McKinney said. “Now kids kind of have those role models to show them that if they love something and are passionate about a sport or whatever it is, you can achieve it. Just put the work into it and enjoy it.”

The current NCFC Youth coach started playing soccer at the age 5 and fell in love with the sport almost immediately, but it wasn’t a straightforward path for McKinney.

“I always had struggles when I was younger, but I didn’t really recognize how much that a ected me until maybe my rst year at clubs, U14,” McKinney said. “Just kind of only getting ve minutes of playing time. So I kind of was like ‘OK, I need to gure out how I can stay on the eld.’

“Obviously, there were struggles with speed and with the quickness part of the game, and then obviously only being able to play with one side of my body at that time. So I kind of had to gure out how I could stay on the eld. That was kind of the rst moment I kind of realized the struggles I had to overcome.”

At each new stage of his career, McKinney faced hurdles that he couldn’t just tackle normally. Instead, he found ways in which to get around them.

“Each step, I kind of had to approach it di erently,” McKinney said. “In the beginning, it was just kind of working on becoming the best passer. And then in high school, it was sort of how can I be quicker without actually being faster. So just o the ball stu and things like that. In college, I ended up doing double sessions. I would train with the team, but also I would train with the women’s team as well in college just to get that extra workout in.”

As McKinney’s love and tal-

ent for the sport grew he became more and more interested in nding ways he could make his dream a full-time reality, and that’s when he stumbled upon his opportunity.

As he read through a Eurosport magazine in 1995, McKinney noticed an ad for a Paralympic team, and that’s when it struck him.

He put together an audition video, sent it o and, before he knew it, a 16-year-old McKinney was lacing them up in Argentina for the CRPSRA Pan-American Games as part of Team USA.

“It was an awesome experience,” McKinney said of his time playing on the national team. “Obviously just getting to travel and play a sport I love full time, but traveling to these countries and meeting these athletes with similar struggles and just kind of learning from them as well was just a unique experience.”

Over his 19-year international career, McKinney scored 81 goals in 124 appearances for the U.S. and led the Americans to a fourth-place nish in the 1996 Atlanta Paralympics as well as an eighth-place nish in both the 2004 and 2012 Games before retiring in 2014.

“Obviously, my family didn’t get to see me play that much because a lot of our games are kind of overseas and everything, so playing in Atlanta, in front of the home crowd, in front of family and friends was one of my favorite moments,” McKinney said.

Following retirement, McKinney began working with NCFC as a youth coach where he continues to inspire and develop the next generation.

“I wanted to stay in the game after I retired,” McKinney said. “So it was a perfect opportunity. When you see your team nally putting things together, coming together and really competing on the eld, that’s probably the best part.”

new, softer tire that was promised to produce fast lap times but was expected to fall o quickly — perhaps as soon as 15 laps. Then there was the weather, which played havoc with the week’s schedule, cutting into ontrack practice time.

Logano and his team participated in the tire test on the new surface, which helped Goodyear develop the new tires.

“I don’t know if you guys ever watched the movie ‘Miracle’ before and the coach is making them run the suicide drills and he keeps saying, ‘Again and again,’” Logano said. “That was (crew chief) Paul Wolfe to me at the test here. I ran over 800 laps in two days. I was sore. I had enough. It was warm out.”

All those laps may have given his crew a head start on managing the uncertainty because they were able to run the entire race on the two sets of new option tires that each team was provided.

“There’s no doubt the fallo with the option tire, the soft tire, falls o very quickly the

rst 15 laps,” Logano said, “but then it would just balance, and it would just stay the same all the way through.”

The fact that the tires would stabilize after the initial fall o was something that seemed to catch many of the other teams o guard, leaving them chasing Logano all night.

“I think some of that’s because honestly we raced at night and it’s cooler out and the track has got more grip,” he said. “Any other part — let’s be honest, it’s a new racetrack. It’s going to be hard to get tire wear at any brand new racetrack.”

Logano was able to hold o challenges from Denny Hamlin, who nished second, and Kyle Larson, who made a push into the top three with about 35 laps remaining. Larson eventually nished fourth.

“Denny gave me a run for my money,” Logano said. “I just had to battle him o . And when there’s a million dollars on the line, I think all the rules go out the window. I knew that was coming. I think that was kind of us trying to maintain that clear air.”

Larson’s long day a good practice run for The Double

By Shawn Krest North State Journal

NORTH WILKESBORO — After making a wild 529.9-mile trip to show up to work on time, Kyle Larson found out that the nal 45 feet were the hardest.

Larson had a test run for an even higher-pro le daily double next weekend. The day before Memorial Day, he’ll attempt to become just the second driver to complete “The Double” and drive every lap of the Indy 500 and the Charlotte 600.

Tony Stewart made the 1,100-mile round (and round) trip in 2001. Many other drivers have attempted the feat and fallen short, either due to engine problems (John Andretti in 1994, Kurt Busch in 2014) or weather complicating the schedule (Robbie Gordon in 1997, 2000, 2003 and 2004). Gordon missed the full Double by one lap in 2002.

Now, Larson, who had a dominating All-Star Race win last year in North Wilkesboro, decided to add to the level of di culty of repeating by becoming the rst driver in a decade to try The Double. Larson spent most of the week in Indy, attempting to qualify for the 500. He found success on Sunday, when he earned the fth spot.

Then the real race — against the clock — began. He was rushed from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in trip that involved an SUV, helicopter and private jet. He landed at the Wilkes County Airport and boarded another chopper, which landed just outside of turn three at the North Wilkesboro Speedway. A golf cart took him the rest of the way.

He arrived at 7:15 p.m., a little over an hour before the green ag and three hours after leaving his Indy car.

“Obviously, this was a little bit di erent,” Larson said. “I feel like I’ve raced multiple cars in the same day. I’ve gone from Louden (New Hampshire) to the Kings Royal (Ohio), or winning the pole in Richmond (Virginia) then going to run the Knoxville (Iowa) Nationals. I’ve done those on the same day. It’s de nitely a bigger magnitude, but I’ve done it … maybe ve times. Maybe that makes me a little more relaxed on days like today.”

Once Larson had arrived at North Wilkesboro, he was ready to start his day job. His crew had spent the day getting the car ready for him again. Kevin Harvick came out of the Fox broadcast booth — and retirement — to drive the practice laps for him on Saturday, and the crew installed his old seat and seat rails in the car, so he’d be more comfortable.

With his own seat back in place, Larson had to start from the back — the penalty for changing drivers. He also had never driven on the resurfaced track at North Wilkesboro, nor had he driven with the new Goodyear Reds tires, developed speci cally for the surface.

“I got to third pretty quickly and was in the best spot to win. I thought for sure we’d win.”

“It’s always hard as the leader,” said Wolfe. “At times it’s a lot tougher as the leader, making those tough decisions on pitting, not pitting. Obviously tonight we threw in the variable of another tire. At times it’s almost like you’re a sitting duck because they’re a lot of times just going to do the opposite of what you do. You have the track position, the guys in the back don’t. So they’re going to play the opposite strategy.

“Fortunately, we had a great car. Obviously, we didn’t know that until we got deeper into the race, but fortunately it played out that we did.”

It seemed that the only thing that could catch up to Logano on Sunday was in ation.

“Compared to the rst time (he won), I guess you could say a million bucks isn’t worth as much as it used to be,” he said. “Maybe that’s one thing we should change is we should keep up with in ation. How many years ago did they start at a million bucks? 1985? Oh, my goodness, it should be three times the amount now.”

“I got up to speed right away,” he said. “I was passing cars immediately.”

After gradually working his way up, Larson made his move with about 35 laps to go, following a caution. He made a run at the lead, passing his way into third place and got as close as three car lengths — about 45 feet — from frontrunner Joey Logano.

“I had a really good restart,” he said. “I got to third pretty quickly and was in the best spot to win. I thought for sure we’d win.”

That was as close as he’d get. After passing most of his competitors down low, his lap times started creeping up a bit, and his strategy wouldn’t work to make up the nal gap.

“My car just felt really loose there,” he said. “I had to move up to the top, and they started driving away from me. Then the guys from behind started catching me.” Larson would have to settle for fourth place, and a solid test run in what promises to be a hectic Memorial Day weekend.

“I’ve made that ight from Indianapolis to Charlotte a number of times,” he said. “It’s an hour, if you’re wondering. That’s no big deal. The dry run was more good for things we can clean up on logistics. I didn’t have my re suit in Indy. So I had to change when I got here. So, having my 600 suit on the airplane, so I can change and get out of sweaty (clothes) would be nice.”

Larson also gets a bit of down time before doing it all over again.

“We practice tomorrow and Friday,” he said.

“There’s some media — lunches, that sort of thing, throughout the week. It’ll be nice to get some days out of

The 2023 All-Star Race winner arrived an hour before the start after Indy qualifying

the car to relax.”

SHAWN KREST / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

Kyle Larson, left, and his wife, Katelyn Sweet, leave the helicopter and rush to a waiting golf cart after arriving at North Wilkesboro Speedway.

LOGANO from page B1

Youth soccer coach Josh McKinney of Raleigh overcame the challenge of cerebral palsy to earn a spot in the National Soccer Hall of Fame.

PHOTO COURTESY NCFC YOUTH

Kyle Larson

‘The Blue Angels’ puts viewers in the ‘box’

The elite ying squad gets the IMAX treatment from Amazon

By Lindsey Bahr The Associated Press

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for a little bit of that “Top Gun: Maverick” spectacle and thrill at the movie theater this summer, you’re in luck. A groundbreaking new documentary, “The Blue Angels,” is ying onto IMAX screens for one week, Through May 22. Using IMAX-certi ed cameras mounted on a helicopter, the lmmakers were granted unprecedented access to the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Squadron, both on the ground and in “the box,” the tightly guarded performance airspace. Unlike in a Hollywood movie, there were no staged recreations, second takes, or computer-generated shots. And they had about “5% of the budget” “Top Gun” had, those involved estimated.

The lm was the brainchild of Rob Stone and Greg “Boss” Woolridge, a former Blue Angel and the subject of a 1994 lm about one of their historic tours in Europe. COVID-19 derailed plans to follow their 75th anniversary season, but a silver lining would emerge in the delay. By that point, the aerial coordinator Kevin LaRosa II had worked several times with actor Glen Powell, on “Top Gun” and “Devotion.” Powell, he’d learned, had grown up with a Blue Angels Lithograph in his childhood bedroom.

“(Powell) said, ‘I’ll hook you up with the Creative Artist Agency in Hollywood and we’ll get this done,’” Woolridge said in a recent interview.

Soon, they were also talking to J.J. Abrams’ company Bad Robot and guring out ways to collaborate with IMAX and show audiences things that no civilian had seen before, under the direction of lmmaker Paul Crowder.

Abrams, who also produced, had grown up living across the street from a former Blue Angel pilot and wrote in an email that

he’d “always been intrigued by their skill, bravery, and heroism.”

This lm would take that fascination to the next level.

“The footage was lmed especially for IMAX,” Abrams continued. “Watching these pilots do their thing in this format — the jets literally inches apart — is utterly bonkers. Truly spectacular to see.”

One of the craziest ideas was to put a helicopter mounted with a camera in the middle of a demonstration, in airspace where no civilian aircraft has ever been allowed. It would be during a practice demonstration, but Greg “Boss” Wooldridge, a former Blue Angel, is quick to remind that there is no real di erence between a practice and the real

show when it comes to execution, the level of excellence expected, and the danger involved.

“When Kevin said, ‘let’s do this’ my eyes got as big as saucers,” Wooldridge said. “I led the (Blue Angels) on three occasions, and I said, ‘I’m not sure I would allow this to happen.”

LaRosa had exhaustively studied how it might happen safely and ensured everyone was properly debriefed. Still, on the day, everyone was prepared to hear “no maneuver” over and over as everyone got used to the distraction of a helicopter in their airspace. Much to their surprise, the “boss” never called “no maneuver.” It all went according to plan.

“We researched every possible way to lm that information,

and everybody’s done it di erent ways from the ground. But to get into the air with a wing-mounted camera and all the cameras in the cockpit?” Wooldridge said. “It was unbelievable.”

LaRosa had done such a good job ying the helicopter that they were able to inch even closer to the jets by the end of the shoot. Crowder also used a Phantom camera, which can shoot 1,000 frames per second (the standard is 24 fps), to get spectacular shots of the vapors coming o the jets.

24 SP 123 NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CABARRUS COUNTY Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by Tanecia Lashay Robinson Unmarried to Hands Law O ce, PLLC, Trustee(s), which was dated July 11, 2022 and recorded on July 11, 2022 in Book 16108 at Page 0323, Cabarrus County Registry, North Carolina. Default having been made of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Trustee Services of Carolina, LLC, having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust, and the holder of the note evidencing said default having

NOTICE OF FORECLOSURE SALE NORTH CAROLINA, CABARRUS COUNTY 24 SP 106 Under and by virtue of a Power of Sale contained in that certain Deed of Trust executed by ComfortNgroup, LLC, Mortgagor(s), in the original amount of $136,500.00, to WCP Fund I, LLC, Mortgagee, dated January 25th, 2022 and recorded on January 27th, 2022 in Book 15810, Page 0332, as instrument number 02964, Cabarrus County Registry. Default having been made in the payment of the note thereby secured by the said Deed of Trust and the undersigned, Anchor Trustee Services, LLC having been substituted as Trustee in said Deed of Trust by an instrument duly recorded in the O ce of the Register of Deeds of Cabarrus County, North Carolina, and the holder of the note evidencing said indebtedness having directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door or other usual place of sale in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, at 2:00 PM on June 4th, 2024, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the

directed that the Deed of Trust be foreclosed, the undersigned Substitute Trustee will o er for sale at the courthouse door of the county courthouse where the property is located, or the usual and customary location at the county courthouse for conducting the sale on June 5, 2024 at 01:00 PM, and will sell to the highest bidder for cash the following described property situated in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, to wit: BEING all of Lot 139 of THE HAVEN AT ROCKY RIVER, Map 1, as shown on that map recorded in Map Book 85, Pages 17-21, in the Cabarrus County Public Registry, North Carolina. Save and except any releases, deeds of release or prior conveyances of record. Said property is commonly known as 1053 River Haven Ave SW, Concord, NC 28025. A Certi ed Check ONLY (no personal checks) of ve percent (5%) of the purchase price, or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale. Following the expiration

following described property, to wit: Lying and being in Number Twelve (12) Township of Cabarrus County, North Carolina on the Northwest side of Fink Street adjoining the property of John Bost, Charlie Mantooth, and Broughton Smith, and being more fully described as follows: Beginning at an iron stake, the Southeast corner of John Bost on the Northwest side of Fink Street and runs thence with the Northwest side of Fink Street North 53 East 59.3 feet to an iron stake, front corner of Broughton Smith; thence with the line of Smith North 36-30 West 120.0 feet to an iron stake, a rear corner of Smith, Bernice, Canupp, and Charlie Mantooth; thence with the line of Mantooth South 53 West 59.3 feet to an iron stake, rear corner of Mantooth, H.F. Blackwelder, and Bost; thence with the line of Bost South 36-30 East 120.0 feet to the point of beginning, as surveyed and platted by Billy B. Long R.L.S., December 8, 1978. More commonly known as 234 Fink Avenue NW, Concord, NC 28025. PIN: 56204869630000. Together with improvements located hereon; said property being located at 234 Fink Avenue, Concord, NC 28025

of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts are immediately due and owing. THIRD PARTY PURCHASERS MUST PAY THE EXCISE TAX AND THE RECORDING COSTS FOR THEIR DEED. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance “AS IS WHERE IS.” There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property being o ered for sale. Substitute Trustee does not have possession of the property and cannot grant access, prior to or after the sale, for purposes of inspection and/ or appraisal. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, any unpaid land transfer taxes, special assessments, easements, rights of way, deeds of release, and any other encumbrances or exceptions of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is/are Tanecia

Tax ID: 12-020-0014.00

Third party purchasers must pay the recording costs of the trustee’s deed, any land transfer taxes, the excise tax, pursuant North Carolina General Statutes §105228.30, in the amount of One Dollar ($1.00) per each Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) or fractional part thereof, and the Clerk of Courts fee, pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §7A-308, in the amount of Forty- ve Cents (0.45) per each One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) or fractional part thereof with a maximum amount of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00). A deposit of ve percent (5%) of the bid or Seven Hundred Fifty Dollars ($750.00), whichever is greater, will be required at the time of the sale and must be tendered in the form of certi ed funds. Following the expiration of the statutory upset bid period, all the remaining amounts will be immediately due and owing. Said property to be o ered pursuant to this Notice of Sale is being o ered for sale, transfer and conveyance AS IS WHERE IS. There are no representations of warranty relating to the title or any physical, environmental, health or safety conditions existing in, on, at, or relating to the property

Lashay Robinson, an unmarried woman. An Order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to G.S. 45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the clerk of superior court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date stated in the notice that is at least 10 days, but no more than 90 days, after the

After its one-week IMAX run, “The Blue Angels” will be available to stream on Prime Video starting May 23. Crowder recommends ignoring “mom’s advice” and sitting close to the screen for the best viewing experience. Wooldridge, who led the Blue Angels three times, said the experience of watching this lm is better than being up there.

“I’ve seen it from the cockpit, my cockpit, a bunch. I’ve seen it from the ground as we debrief,” he said. But I’ve never seen it the way you see it in this movie. The perspective was so much better than I ever saw as a pilot. I’m wowed and awed by it.”

“You can read all you want, but until you’ve spent time in Pensacola at the air base and really spend time with these guys, watching them do what they do and dedicated everything that they are to it, you don’t really get it,” Crowder said. “What we were hoping to do in the lm was to portray much of that.”

being o ered for sale. This sale is made subject to all prior liens, unpaid taxes, special assessments, land transfer taxes, if any, and encumbrances of record. To the best of the knowledge and belief of the undersigned, the current owner(s) of the property is ComfortNgroup, LLC. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE: An order for possession of the property may be issued pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes §45-21.29 in favor of the purchaser and against the party or parties in possession by the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the property is sold. Any person who occupies the property pursuant to a rental agreement entered into or renewed on or after October 1, 2007, may, after receiving the notice of sale, terminate the rental agreement by providing written notice of termination to the landlord, to be e ective on a date

AMAZON PRIME VIA

Amazon’s “The Blue Angels” give viewers an up-close look at the legendary demonstration squad.

or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at PO Box 53555, Fayetteville, North Carolina 28305, on or before August 16, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. This the 16th day of May, 2024. J. Duane Gilliam, Jr. Administrator of the Estate of Mary Jane Bryant, Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305

05/16/24, 05/23/24, 05/30/24 and 06/06/24 NOTICE TO CREDITORS IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 24-E-632 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND Having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Gloria Hutson, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before August 1, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated

Having quali ed as Administrator of the Estate of Robert Allen Morris, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, the undersigned does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against the estate of said decedent to exhibit them to the undersigned at 2517 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28305, on or before August 8, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to the said Estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned. Dated this 8th day of May, 2024.

Christopher Morris, Administrator of the Estate of Robert Allen Morris NICOLE A. CORLEY MURRAY, CRAVEN & CORLEY, L.L.P. N.C. BAR NO. 56459 2517 RAEFORD ROAD FAYETTEVILLE, NC 28305 – 3007 (910) 483 – 4990 COUNSEL FOR EXECUTOR

ADMINISTRATOR CTA NOTICE

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE 23E2052 State of North Carolina Cumberland County NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as the Administrator CTA of the Estate of Doris Pearce, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at 1862 Middle Road, Eastover, North Carolina 28312, on or before August 16, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 16th day of May, 2024.

Christopher Brian Pearce Administrator CTA of the Estate of Doris Pearce, Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305 05/16/24, 05/23/24, 05/30/24 and 06/06/24

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

ESTATE OF Robert David Reeser Cumberland County Estate File No. 24 E 708

All persons, rms and corporations having claims against Robert David Reeser, deceased, of Cumberland County, North Carolina, are noti ed to present their claims to Alfreda Chason-Reeser, Executor, at 2131 Burnett Ave., Fayetteville, NC 28306, on or before the 9th day of August, 2024 (which date is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice), or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. Debtors of the Decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the Executor/Administrator named above.

This the 2nd day of May, 2024.

Alfreda Chason-Reeser Executor of the Estate of Robert David Reeser

Davis W. Puryear Hutchens Law Firm Attorneys for the Estate 4317 Ramsey Street Fayetteville, NC 28311

Run dates: May 8, May 16, May 23 and May 30, 2024

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE NO. 24E759

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA COUNTY OF CUMBERLAND

Administrator’s/Executor’s Notice

The undersigned, having quali ed as Executor of the Estate of Freda Lois Deal Thomas, deceased, late of Cumberland County, hereby noti es all person, rms, and corporations having claims against said estate to present their claim to the undersigned on or before the August 16, 2024 (which is three months after the day of the rst publication of this notice) or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All Debtors of the decedent are requested to make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This is 16th of May, 2024

Donna Deal Carter, Executor 2093 Bainbridge Road Stedman, NC 28391 Of the Estate of Freda Lois Deal Thomas, Deceased

(For Publication: 05/16/24,05/23/24,05/30/24, 06/06/24)

ADMINISTRATOR’S NOTICE

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION ESTATE FILE 24E0696 State of North Carolina Cumberland County NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as the Administrator of the Estate of Richard Mack Wilder, Jr. aka Richard McAdoo Wilder, Jr., late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at 2591 Dockside Drive SW, Supply, North Carolina 28462, on or before August 16, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery. All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 16th day of May, 2024.

Richard M. Wilder, III Administrator of the Estate of Richard Mack Wilder, Jr. aka Richard McAdoo Wilder, Jr., Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305

05/16/24, 05/23/24, 05/30/24 and 06/06/24

EXECUTOR’S NOTICE

IN THE GENERAL COURT OF JUSTICE

SUPERIOR COURT DIVISION

ESTATE FILE 24E0700

State of North Carolina

Cumberland County

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

The undersigned, having quali ed as the Executor of the Estate of Gary David Wilson, late of Cumberland County, North Carolina, does hereby notify all persons, rms or corporations having claims against said estate to present them to the undersigned at 116 Village Mill Place, Raleigh, North Carolina 27608, on or before August 16, 2024, or this notice will be pleaded in bar of their recovery.

All persons indebted to the estate will please make immediate payment to the undersigned.

This the 16th day of May, 2024.

Heather Wilson Tuttle Executor of the Estate of Gary David Wilson, Deceased c/o Gilliam Law Firm, PLLC J. Duane Gilliam, Jr., Attorney PO Box 53555 Fayetteville, NC 28305

05/16/24, 05/23/24, 05/30/24 and 06/06/24

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Dillon Meyer Cook, having quali ed on the 1st day of March 2024, as Administrator of the Estate of Timothy Allen Cook (2024-E-359), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 26th day of August, 2024, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address.

This 23rd day of May 2024.

Dillon Meyer Cook Administrator ESTATE OF TIMOTHY ALLEN COOK David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411

Publish: May 23, 2024 May 30, 2024 June 6, 2024 June 13, 2024

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Ann S. Curtis AKA Ann Marie Shepley Curtis, having quali ed on the 12th day of March 2024, as Executor of the Estate of Pansy L. Shepley (2024-E-82), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 5th day of August, 2024, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address.

This 1st day of May 2024.

Ann S. Curtis AKA Ann Marie Shepley Curtis

Executor ESTATE OF PANSY L. SHEPLEY

David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Neena Kellie Beasley, having quali ed on the 26th day of March 2024, as Administrator of the Estate of Elizabeth P. Williams (2024-E-494), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 5th day of August, 2024, or the claims will be forever barred thereafter, and this notice will be pleaded in bar of recovery. All persons, rms, and corporations indebted to said Estate will please make prompt payment to the undersigned at the above address.

This 1st day of May 2024. Neena Kellie Beasley

Administrator ESTATE OF ELIZABETH P. WILLIAMS

David Anderson Attorney at Law 9111 Market St, Ste A Wilmington, NC 28411

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

NORTH CAROLINA NEW HANOVER COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS THE UNDERSIGNED, Edwin M. Robertson, III, having quali ed on the 15th day of March 2024, as Administrator of the Estate of Edwin Mason Robertson, Jr. (2024-E437), deceased, does hereby notify all persons, rms, and corporations having claims against said Estate that they must present them to the undersigned at DAVID E. ANDERSON, PLLC, 9111 Market Street, Suite A, Wilmington, North Carolina, 28411, on or before the 5th day of August,

LI, for the claims of the plainti . SECOND COUNT 1. The Defendants/Third-Party Plainti s repeat each of their allegations as set forth in the First Count of the Third-Party Complaint, and make the same a part hereof as if set forth herein.

2. While denying liability to the Plainti , if judgment is recovered by the Plainti against these Defendants/ Third-Party Plainti s, it is hereby asserted that the injuries and damages alleged by the Plainti were caused by or arose out of the primary, direct and proximate negligence of the Third-Party Defendant, ZHIYONG LI, and that

Plainti s RIGO LIMO-AUTO CORP. and SHERPA JYANGME Todd Hyman /s/ Todd Hyman CCI: File No.: 010200-00044 Dated: March 19, 2024 Todd Hyman Esq. (ID 024691998)

CUMBERLAND

Rain delays

North Stanly senior Trey Gibson looks toward his dugout during a playo game against Burns on May 17, before the game was postponed due to rain with Burns up 2-0. The game was continued Saturday, with Burns winning 5-2 to eliminate the fth-seeded Comets. For more sports, turn to page 4.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Malfunctioning tra c lights to become all-way stops

NCDOT is updating the state’s tra c signals so they will ash red in every direction following an equipment failure or something else that disrupts normal operation. Currently, a malfunctioning signal ashes yellow on the main corridor and red on smaller roads.

As drivers approach an intersection that is malfunctioning, the red ashing light should be treated as a stop sign.

NCDOT has more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, including those operated by municipal agreements in several cities. The department will phase in this change over the next year as part of the preventative maintenance it already conducts on tra c signals.

NCWRC warns:

Don’t feed the bears!

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding North Carolinians that the state’s bear population continues to grow, and, with humanbear interactions increasing, to make sure never to feed or approach bears and to make sure bird feeders and garbage are secure.

Perhaps more important is advice to never handle, attempt to catch, or feed bear cubs — even if they appear to be alone. Mother bears will frequently temporarily leave their cubs in a safe place but remain nearby and could defend their cubs or, worse, abandon them after interactions with humans.

For more on black bears, visit bearwise.org

Albemarle approves two-year Waste Management contract renewal

Trash prices will rise by more than $11 per month

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

ALBEMARLE — At the Albemarle City Council’s May 20 meeting, councilmembers unanimously approved a new two-year solid waste collection and recycling contract with Waste Management that will begin in July.

Last fall, the council reviewed which services to contract and which services city sta would perform going forward, deciding that sta would be responsible for yard waste, limb, loose leaf and white good collection to allow for more possible service provider proposals.

The city received proposals for garbage and recycling collection from Waste Manage -

ment and Republic Services, among others.

“Republic Services, as you all know, did not meet the requested service levels that we all wanted to provide our residents,” Albemarle Public Works Director Ross Holshouser told the council. “With that being said, Waste Management did o er comprehensive services at the lowest price.”

While council initially decided last July that it did not plan to renew its seven-year contract with Waste Management — citing discontent with the current quality of contractual work provided — the City of Albemarle will now continue to work with the company with the future goal of independently handling the full collection of garbage, recyclables and yard waste.

“We’ll be exploring the possibility of bringing solid waste and recycling services in-house once the two-year contract with Waste Management expires.”

Albemarle Public Works Director Ross Holshouser

over the past years, and that the lower-than-market-rate pricing locked into the city’s previous seven-year contract with Waste Management allowed Albemarle residents to temporarily avoid higher bills and any major in ation impacts.

The previous contract was limited to a 2.5% increase built in each year, while the new contract starting in July will see an increase of $11.03 per month charged to Albemarle’s collection-billing department.

The Fire Grant helps local departments with funding to purchase equipment

By Ena Sellers Stanly County Journal

THE NORTH CAROLINA

O ce of State Fire Marshal announced the recipients of the 2024 Volunteer Fire Department Fund, also known as Fire Grant, on May 15. In Stanly County, $235,654 will help nine re departments purchase equipment using matching funds.

“We’ll be exploring the possibility of bringing solid waste and recycling services in-house once the two-year contract with Waste Management expires,” Holshouser said. “Again, those are going to be discussions we’ll have over the next year. We are always evaluating the most ecient and cost e ective options for service or service in our community.”

With the new assigned delegation of services between Waste Management and the city, the vendor will be providing bi-weekly recycling, weekly cart collection of garbage, weekly bulk collection of extra bagged garbage that doesn’t t in the cart, as well as weekly construction and demolition items (boards, furniture, mat-

Holshouser mentioned that the cost of garbage and recycling services has risen “signi cantly”

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities,” stated Brian Taylor, State Fire Marshal in the announcement. “Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely.” The letters notifying each re department of the grant award and thanking them for their hard work and dedication were sent last week.

THE STANLY COUNTY EDITION OF NORTH STATE JOURNAL

We stand corrected To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline. com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

COUNCIL from page 1

tresses, cabinets, carpeting, decking).

City sta will be responsible for seasonal loose leaf collection, weekly limb, yard waste, electronics and white good collection, consisting of appliances, refrigerators, water heaters and washer dryers.

Albemarle residents with any questions regarding their garbage or recycling services are advised to contact the city’s customer service department, who will now act as a mediator between residents and Waste Management; the contact phone number is 704-984-9615.

Mayor Pro Tem Martha Sue Hall stated at the meeting that the direct line of communication from customers to the city for all disposal-related questions — even inquiries eventually brought to the vendor by the city — is “one of the best things that we are doing now.”

The Albemarle City Council is set to meet again on June 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers.

WEEKLY FORECAST

Fourth-annual concert series continues at Juneberry Ridge

The rst of three festival nights is set for June 1

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

NORWOOD — Back again for its fourth summer festival and concert series, the annual Juneberry Jams event at Juneberry Ridge is set to return to Norwood next month with its unique combination of musical acts and guest speakers.

Hosted at the 750-acre regenerative farm and corporate retreat at 40120 Old Cottonville Road, each festival date across three Saturdays in June will o er a pair of performing artists, a reside chat with authors, teachers and prominent thinkers in the area of regenerative farming, as well as a mix of farm-centered experiences for those who attend.

“Juneberry Jams is back for its fourth season of farm luminaries, farm fresh foods, and their best ever line up of music entertainment,” Juneberry Ridge announced in a promotional release.

COURTESY PHOTO

Musicians perform at a previous Juneberry Jams event.

Festival Day 3 is fronted by tribute band Red NOT Chili Peppers with opening support from “The Voice” alum Jake HaldenVang and as well as author Daniel Firth Gri th.

Speakers are set to begin at 5:15 p.m. on each of the three nights, while the opening acts and headliners are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively.

For dining, the event will o er four chef-prepared entree items to attendees: regenerative smoked chicken and ancient grains, aquaponic garden salad and veggies, regenerative lamb platter, and regenerative pork mu uletta sandwiches. Single-day tickets are currently on sale at juneberry. com for $25, while a three-day festival pass (June 1, 8, 22) is available for $50. Admission is free for children under 12.

Juneberry Ridge has become North Carolina’s largest residential renewable energy system. The farm includes rainwater-harvesting technology, an organic greenhouse and stocked shing ponds, among many other amenities. In a video statement shortly after the formation of the venue, Juneberry Ridge founder Judy Carpenter discussed the goals of the nature retreat and lakeview conference center.

The summer series is scheduled to kick o on June 1 with Festival Day 1’s “Farm Fresh Folk” theme — a night that will include acoustic pop singer Ellie Morgan , Asheville-based folk trio Ashes & Arrows, and agroecology farmer Jack Algiere.

Festival Days 2 and 3 are now scheduled respectively for

“Experience the rhythm of the ridge and the bounty of summer at this annual farm and music festival in Norwood, NC. The 750-acre regenerative farm, education center, and events destination has produced another unforgettable season of homegrown folk and rock music, enlightening guest speakers, and regeneratively farmed food.”

May 15

• Dallas Briar Hefner, 29 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of obtaining property by false pretense (eight counts) and exploiting a disabled/elder trust.

• Fred Troy Morgan, 56 yearsold, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of misdemeanor crime of domestic violence and communicating threats.

• Seth Elijah Poplin, 18 yearsold, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of felony possession of Schedule I controlled substances, simple possession of Schedule VI controlled substances, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of

marijuana paraphernalia, and additional lighting equipment violation.

• Michael Dean Smart, 42 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on a charge of possessing a weapon of mass destruction.

• Chase Judson Patterson, 32 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on a charge of habitual impaired driving.

May 16

• Nicholas Lane Morton, 44 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on a charge of assault inflicting serious injury.

• Miguel Ludachris Holmes, 21 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail as a fugitive from justice.

June 8’s “Community, Charisma, and Classics” night and June 22’s “Stewardship, Style, and Spice” night.

The former is headlined by the Nashville-based Beatles cover band Beatles 4 Sale and supported by singer-songwriter Chelsea Locklear. Roger Dick, president and chief executive o cer of Uwharrie Capital Corp. will begin the night with a speaking appearance.

May 17

• Tony Alvonda Robinson, 48 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver marijuana, possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule-IV controlled substance, possession with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver a schedule-I controlled substances; maintaining a vehicle/dwelling/place for controlled substances; and possession of drug paraphernalia.

• Richard John Tucker, 19 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on multiple charges including injury to personal property, consuming alcohol while under the

“There is a new sense of urgency with both our mission and our vision,” Carpenter said. “Juneberry needs to be sustainable, based on restorable agriculture and needs to make a sustainable pro t as well. This company is built to last and is going to be here 300 years from now. I just want to leave the earth in better shape than it was when I got here.”

age of 21, misdemeanor conspiracy, reckless driving to endanger, driving without liability insurance, driving/ allowing a motor vehicle with no registration, violation of motorcycle/moped passenger helmet law, and expired/no inspection.

• Makari Kireef-shamaud Ridenhour, 22 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of breaking or entering a motor vehicle, injury to personal property, injury to real property, and seconddegree trespass.

• Kenneth Joseph Eudy, 42 years-old, was arrested and booked into the Stanly County Jail on charges of failing to report a new address as a sex offender.

CRIME LOG

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

The

| SUSAN ESTRICH

prosecution has made its case

Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s. The big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case or whether the jury will accept it but whether it all will matter.

DID DONALD TRUMP falsify business records to cover up his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels? Did he do it to hold onto women voters in the days leading up to the 2016 election?

Reading the daily press accounts of the New York trial leaves little doubt that the prosecution made its case.

Michael Cohen is a liar, convicted as one, but his testimony addressed and answered the key questions in the case. Daniels at one point denied having an a air with the former president, but she did not waver at the trial. Her account of her interaction with the former president was searing. The records were clear. Hush money is not a legal expense. Cohen did what he was told. Trump was fully on board. What more could you expect from the prosecution?

With closing arguments expected to come as soon as next week, the defense has yet to introduce an alternative narrative of what happened here.

There is no alternative narrative. They may claim it was all to protect his family, to shield Melania from embarrassment, but Hope Hicks made clear there was a political imperative. And who would believe that it was all for Melania? It was for Trump.

Even the most cynical of the talking heads acknowledged that over the course of the trial,

the chances of a conviction increased. The question, and it has always been the question, is to what end? Will the jury convict?

Juries like judges, and this one, by all reports, should command the greatest respect of the jurors. He has controlled the courtroom, been even-tempered and even-handed. The judge will read the instructions, inform the jury of the elements of the crime and ask them to apply the law to the facts they nd. It should not be di cult.

This is not a complex fact situation. It was a straightforward payo for an obvious purpose — and it worked, until it didn’t. If the jury does what the judge instructs them to, and there is no reason at this point to think they will not, it should not be di cult for them to reach a verdict.

Will they be swayed by the fact that they are convicting a former president?

It could happen, of course, but they have been sitting in a courtroom with him for over a month. He has, in all likelihood, been reduced to human size.

They’ve watched him squirm and smirk and struggle to stay awake.

Whatever kismet he brought to the room when they rst confronted him should have worn o by now. He is human-sized. Their job is straightforward, for all the historical footnotes.

No, the big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case — it has — or whether the jury will accept it — they should — but whether it all will matter. Signi cant numbers of voters have told pollsters that a criminal conviction will make them less likely to vote for Trump, but will it really? Will they simply accept this, as they did the E. Jean Carroll verdict, as yet another example of Trump being Trump? So he paid hush money to a woman with whom he had an exploitive sexual relationship. So he did it to try to protect himself in the presidential election. So he falsi ed it as legal expenses. So what? At what point is enough enough? At what point will people with morals and values be unwilling to compromise on a leader who is de cient on both scores? The parade of Republicans who have shown up at the courthouse to support Trump during this trial is a testament to the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. They should be ashamed of themselves. Only half in jest, they were willing to risk control of the House oor to get in line for the cameras and kiss the ring. Someday, hopefully, we will look back on all of this and wonder how so many people who should know better took temporary leave of their senses to stand by a man who does not deserve their support. But between now and then, the jurors and then the voters must decide.

The world’s — and the Pacific Rim’s — disastrous population implosion

WILL THE WORLD be better o with fewer people?

For years that has been a hypothetical question posed to suggest an a rmative answer. Fewer people, it was claimed, would mean less depredation of natural resources, less urban overcrowding, more room for other species to stretch their (actual or metaphorical) legs. Mankind was a parasite, a blight, and overpopulation a disease. Fewer people would mean a better Earth.

Not everyone has agreed. More people, argued the late economist Julian Simon, means more inventors, more innovators, more creators. Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father’s 17 children. Would America, and the world, have been better o if his father had stopped at 14?

More people also means more consumers and taxpayers. More consumers to pay for the goods and services of private-sector workers. More taxpayers to pay for, among other things, bene ts for the elderly and in rm.

Whatever you think, whether the world would be better o with fewer people is no longer a hypothetical or rhetorical question. It is, it seems, a question squarely presented, or just about to be presented, by reality.

“Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep population constant,” Greg Ip and Janet Adamy write in The Wall Street Journal. “It may have already happened.”

The global replacement rate, they point out, is 2.2 children per woman, with the 0.2 representing the children who do not grow into adulthood and the excess of boys over girls in countries where many parents abort female babies. Demographers have long noticed the world is heading toward 2.2 but expected it to take longer to get there. The United Nations pegged it at 2.5 in 2017. It fell to 2.3 in 2021, and incoming data suggest it’s declined signi cantly since then.

Previous traumatic events have produced higher birthrates, like America’s and eventually Europe’s post-World War II baby boom. But the COVID-19 pandemic, after an initial spike in births resembling ones occurring nine months after electricity blackouts, has produced even fewer births than pessimistic experts predicted.

Total world population won’t start falling immediately. One estimate is that world population, now about 8.1 billion, will peak at 9.6 billion in 2061. The fears that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation have proved unfounded, and population control e orts by the likes of the Rockefeller Foundation and Warren Bu ett have petered out.

As technology historian Vaclav Smil points out, the discovery in 1908 of the Haber-Bosch process for producing synthetic ammonia has led to food production that can feed the world’s current billions and many more.

Thomas Malthus, who in 1798 wrote that any population increase would result in famine and disease, is dead.

Today the negative e ects of subreplacement population growth are already being felt. Government pensions and elderly medical care are proving di cult to sustain in the United States and western Europe.

Economic growth seldom rises to pre-2000 levels because the labor force is growing little, or even shrinking.

More striking e ects are seen in East Asia, as set out by American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt for Foreign A airs. Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s.

Decades later, the result is that East Asia’s working-age cohort is now shrinking. By 2050, it will have more people over 80 than children under 15.

These countries, Eberstadt writes, “will nd it harder to generate economic growth, accumulate investments, and build wealth; to fund their safety nets; and to mobilize their armed forces.” China may not be able to amass huge armies to overcome the U.S. and its allies as it did in Korea in 1950. But Japan and South Korea will not be able to raise troops in numbers they once did. And will China attack Taiwan before its cohort of military-age men shrinks further?

“The long-heralded ‘Asian century’ may never truly arrive,” Eberstadt writes.

And on the other side of the Paci c Rim, between 2020 and 2023, California’s population fell by 538,000, or 1.4%. This is a reversal of more than 150 years of above-U.S.average growth and despite the state’s physical climate and beautiful scenery.

This astonishing trend owes much to dreadful public policies that have incentivized modest-income people with families, including immigrants, to move out, even though California still attracts highly skilled college graduates from “back East.” But how many children will they produce? Will a declining-in-fertility America produce enough o spring to replenish Silicon Valley and Hollywood?

Absent a horri c military clash, the Paci c Rim that has produced so much innovation seems about to settle into an increasingly uncomfortable, hardscrabble and uncreative old age, with no gaggles of nephews, nieces, grandchildren and cousins who give hope that things will keep improving.

Not the paradise the population control people promised.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

COLUMN

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

STANLY SPORTS

Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame set to induct 2024 class

The event marks the hall’s 32nd annual induction ceremony

By Jesse Deal Stanly County Journal

MISENHEIMER — The Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame will soon induct four new local athletes for its 2024 class of inductees as part of its 32nd annual induction ceremony.

The event’s dinner social is scheduled for June 3 at 6 p.m. followed by the banquet at 6:30 p.m. at Pfei er University’s Merner Gymnasium.

This year’s inductees for the Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024 are Jack Gaster, Bill Mauldin, Darrell Mauldin, and Fran Watson.

Over 60 men and women have been inducted into the Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame, to date.

Gaster led the Albemarle High School football team to a remarkable record of 121 wins and 25 losses from 1993 to 2003, securing state 1-AA championships in 2001, 2002, and 2003.

Bill Mauldin, a graduate of

Albemarle High School and Appalachian State, led Watauga High School to the NCHSAA 3A championship in 1978 and guided Catawba College to a South Atlantic Conference title in 1988.

Darrell Mauldin, who graduated from North Stanly High School and Campbell University, was a two-time all-conference basketball player and the North Piedmont Conference MVP in 1976. During his 1978-79 season at Campbell, he topped the nation in free throw percentage. Watson set records as a basketball player at Rich eld High School and Pfei er University. After graduating, she pursued a career in education, becoming a long-time teacher and a highly successful coach for volleyball, basketball and softball teams at East Rowan High School. Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame member Rod Broadway will serve as the event’s keynote speaker.

After a renowned high school football career at West Stanly, Broadway received All-ACC and All-American honors at UNC-Chapel Hill. He then began a football coaching career at North Carolina Central, Gram-

Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway, dies at 65

The legendary executive joined NASCAR in 1989

The Associated Press CONCORD — Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway and an old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing’s pioneers, has died, Speedway Motorsports announced. He was 65.

Gossage stepped down three years ago after 25 years as president of the track in Fort Worth, Texas. In all, Gossage spent 32 years working for Speedway Motorsports, learning the art of selling tickets, packing grandstands and turning races into must-see spectacles from company founder Bruton Smith and longtime executive Humpy Wheeler.

“There was nothing too crazy for Eddie,” IndyCar team owner Bobby Rahal said. “There was nothing too extreme for Eddie in terms of promotions at the races. He was a promoter. You don’t see that often anymore. Most people, yeah, they rent the track out and that’s it, and then complain about

not enough spectators coming or something. He was a promoter.”

Gossage had worked for Miller Brewing Co. in motorsports management before joining Speedway Motorsports in 1989. He was still a young public relations director three years later when, during a news conference to promote NASCAR’s rst nighttime All-Star race — appropriately billed “One Hot Night” — one of his stunts literally set Smith’s hair on re. Smith was tasked with throwing a giant light switch rigged by Gossage to highlight the speedway’s new lighting system. But it shorted out and sparks ew, and Gossage once recalled, “I thought I was headed for the unemployment line for sure.”

“But for some reason, Bruton kept me around,” Gossage said several years ago, “and it wasn’t long after that he gave me an opportunity I could have only dreamed of.”

Smith had begun buying land in North Texas, and he sent Gossage from Charlotte to Fort Worth in 1995 to oversee the project as general manager. Texas Motor Speedway opened two

bling State, and North Carolina A&T.

Tickets for the 2024 Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame can be purchased for $35 in advance and $50 on the day of the event. To buy tickets by phone, call Albemarle Parks and Recreation at 704-984-9560.

They are also currently on sale at the Niven Community Center, Waddell Community Center, Starnes-Bramlett Jewelers, Uwharrie Dash, Locust City Hall, and the Oakboro Parks and Recreation.

The Stanly County Sports Hall of Fame dates back to Jan. 23, 1989, when the event sponsored by the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce had its rst induction ceremony; coaches Toby Webb and Frank Mabry made up the rst class of inductees.

Over the years the Sports Hall of Fame committee — with the in uence of Albemarle natives and famous ACC announcers Woody Durham (UNC) and Bob Harris (Duke) — has managed to land sports gures such as Roy Williams, Dale Jarrett, and Mike Krzyzewski to serve as guest speakers.

Ryan Collins

West Stanly, boys’ golf

Ryan Collins is a senior on the West Stanly boys’ golf team.

Collins was runner-up for the Rocky River conference player of the year award, the second year in a row he’s nished in second place. Last year, he tied for the title then lost in a sudden-death playo . He was also named to the all-conference team.

Collins went on to states and was the only member of the Colts to place at the 3A golf championship at Stonebridge Golf Club. He nished with a rst-round 74, second-round 83 for a 157 two-day score. That was good for a tie for 29th place.

years later for its rst NASCAR race, and soon it became one of the premier entertainment facilities in the country, along with a centerpiece of the Speedway Motorsports portfolio.

The 1,500-acre complex includes the 1.5-mile superspeedway, 194 luxury suites, 76 condominiums, a nine-story Speedway Club, o ce space and the 11,000seat Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track.

When he announced his retirement in 2021, Gossage said his approach sometimes borrowed from

boxing promoters Bob Arum and Don King — and that his ideas were sometimes outrageous. But his intentions were always for the best interest of the fans, the racing and the speedway, and that is why so many remembered him so fondly on Friday.

“Eddie Gossage was a consummate promoter whose outsidethe-box ideas helped engage fans across the country,” NASCAR said in a statement Friday. “He was truly passionate about motorsports and always looking for the next great idea to bring new

fans to the sport and keep them entertained at the racetrack.”

Funeral arrangements were pending. Survivors include Gossage’s wife, Melinda, a daughter, son and three grandchildren.

“Each day I come to work, I see the impact he had throughout our property,” Texas Motor Speedway general manager Mark Faber said. “Eddie laid a foundation for success to build upon for generations to come and made Texas Motor Speedway a showplace of which Texans will always be proud.”

RON T. ENNIS / AP PHOTO

Then-Texas Motor Speedway President Eddie Gossage gives a tour at the track in 2014. Gossage, an old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing pioneers, died at the age of 65.

SIDELINE REPORT

PGA

Arrest, 8th-place nish in hectic weekend for Sche er

Louisville

Scottie Sche er nished o what he called a “hectic” week at the PGA Championship by surging to an eighth-place nish. The world’s top-ranked golfer shot a 6-under 65 to nish at 13 under for the tournament. The round came two days after Sche er spent time in a Louisville jail following his arrest on charges stemming from a tra c incident. Sche er is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The 27-year-old Texan says he’s not sure what’s in store on the legal front in the near future and he’s mostly focused on getting home to his wife and newborn son.

GYMNASTICS

Biles shines in return to mat

Hartford, Conn. Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic. The 27-year-old Biles posted an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points clear of runnerup Shilese Jones. Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, saw her hopes for a career comeback at 28 take a hit. Douglas fell twice on uneven bars in her rst event and pulled out of the nal three rotations.

BOXING

Usyk beats Fury to become the rst undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the rst undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninthround knockdown in a backand-forth bout between two previously unbeaten heavyweight champs. Two judges favored Usyk, 115112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113. Usyk started quickly, but then had to survive while Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk rallied in the nal rounds.

MLB

Bad Bunny sports agency sues baseball players’ union over ban, announces Acuña Jr. as client

New York Music star Bad Bunny’s sports representation rm sued the baseball players’ association Thursday, asking for a restraining order against the union that would allow it to keep working with the company’s clients. The agency also said it has added NL MVP Ronal Acuña Jr. as a client. Rimas Sports/ Diamond Sports LLC, sued in U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, accusing the Major League Baseball Players Association of violating Puerto Rico’s general tort claim and tortious interference with its contracts to represent players. The suit claimed the union’s actions blocked it from taking on Acuña as a client.

Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas

The victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s

bid

By Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas worked his way to Seize the Grey after his horse won the Preakness Stakes and kept getting interrupted by well-wishers o ering congratulations.

“I think they’re trying to get rid of me,” Lukas said. “They probably want me to retire. I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Not when the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer keeps winning big-time races.

Seize the Grey ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid Saturday by going wire to wire to win

the Preakness, giving Lukas his seventh victory in the race, one short of the record held by good friend Bob Ba ert.

“I’m only one behind him — I warned him already,” Lukas said. “It never gets old at this level, and I love the competition. I love to get in here with the rest of them.”

The strapping grey colt took advantage of the muddy track just as Lukas hoped he would, pulling o the upset in a second consecutive impressive start two weeks after romping in a race on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Going o at 9-1 as one of the longest shots on the board, Seize the Grey moved to the lead immediately out of the starting gate and never looked back, nishing 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mystik Dan in 1:56.82.

“I thought his action down the backside was beautiful, and

I knew that he was handling the track,” Lukas said. “I said, ‘Watch out, he’s not going to quit.’” Mystik Dan nished second in the eld of eight horses running in the $2 million, 1 3/16mile race.

“My colt’s a fantastic colt and proud of him,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”

Seize the Grey was a surprise Preakness winner facing tougher competition than in the Pat Day Mile on May 4. Though given the Lukas connection, it should never be a surprise when one of his horses is covered in a blanket of Black-Eyed Susan owers.

No one in the race’s 149-year history has saddled more horses in the Preakness than Lukas with 48 since debuting in 1980 and winning that one with Codex. He had two in this time,

with Just Steel nishing fth.

Seize the Grey paid $21.60 to win, $8.40 to place and $4.40 to show. Mystik Dan paid $4.20 and $2.80 after nishing a head in front of third-place Catching Freedom, who paid $3.20 to show.

Mystik Dan was the 2-1 favorite, but he and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. could not replicate their perfect Derby trip to win that race’s rst three-way photo nish since 1947. Instead, Jaime Torres rode Seize the Grey to a win in his rst Triple Crown race of any kind, just two years after starting to ride.

“I have no words,” said Torres, a native of Puerto Rico who did not begin racing until seeing it on TV in late 2019. “I’m very excited, very excited and very thankful to all the people that have been behind me, helping me.”

Brissett embracing role of mentor during his 2nd stint as quarterback with Patriots

The former Wolfpack QB will mentor former Tar Heel Drake Maye

By Kyle Hightower The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jacoby Brissett had no expectations the rst time he walked into the New England Patriots’ training facility in 2016 as a wide-eyed, 23-year-old rookie quarterback.

A third-round pick, he was joining a team that had a fourtime Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Tom Brady at the time and an entrenched backup in Jimmy Garoppolo.

Brissett didn’t know if he’d even make the roster.

“Third-string quarterback my rookie year. Took no reps at training camp or (organized team activities) with the rst team. And Week 2 I’m in the game versus the Dolphins,” Brissett recalled on Thursday. “You never know when your opportunity is going to come. You’ve just got to ready.”

Brissett couldn’t have predicted that Brady would begin that 2016 season by serving a four-game suspension as part of his “De ategate” punishment, or that Garoppolo would be injured in the second game of the season against Miami, thrusting him into the starting job for two games. But Brissett’s point is clear.

this and cadence and stu like that,” Brissett said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He can make all the throws.”

After being traded to Indianapolis by the Patriots in 2017, Brissett spent four years with the Colts and had one-year stops in Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

He’s appeared in 79 games with 48 starts along the way, growing into a respected veteran in the league. It comes with lessons that he feels will be helpful to a young quarterback such as Maye.

“He wants to learn football. He wants to get better,” Brissett said. “That’s what you want. Not only in your quarterback but anybody on the team. I’m excited to work with him.”

A chance to impact a team can come at any time. And that’s exactly how the now-31-year-old is approaching his latest stop in New England. With the one-year, $8 million free-agent deal he signed with the Patriots in March, Brissett joins a quarterback room in which he’s largely viewed as a transition player while rstround pick and former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye develops. Lucky for the Patriots, Maye and Brissett already have some

familiarity with one another. Brissett and Maye share a mutual friend in Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell. Maye and Howell both played at North Carolina, and Howell and Brissett were teammates on the Commanders last season. All three spent time together last summer. Since nding out they’d both be joining the Patriots, Maye and Brissett have gotten to know each other better.

“He’s already texting me about plays and how do I think about

Brissett is equally excited about rekindling his relationship with o ensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who served the same role in Cleveland when Brissett was there in 2022 and started for the Browns while Deshaun Watson served his 11-game NFL suspension.

“I’m just going to be myself. I have no ego in this,” Brissett said. “I’m 31 now. I’ve matured as a man, as a football player and learned from those experiences that I’ve had throughout my career. I’ve been fortunate to play along or play beside a lot of really good quarterbacks and a lot of good coaches. The things that I’ve learned hopefully will continue to propel my career.”

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP PHOTO

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass at practice, during the 2016 season. One thing Brissett has learned during his eight-year NFL career is to maximize opportunity. That is how he is approaching his second stint with the Patriots.

Triple Crown

JULIO CORTEZ / AP PHOTO

Jaime Torres, atop Seize The Grey, crosses the nish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course.

What’s next for Iran’s government after its president’s death?

Ebrahim Raisi died

in a helicopter crash Sunday

By Joseph Krauss

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — The death of Iran’s president is unlikely to lead to any immediate changes in Iran’s ruling system or to its overarching policies, which are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday, was seen as a prime candidate to succeed the 85-year-old supreme leader, and his death makes it more likely that the job could eventually go to Khamenei’s son.

A hereditary succession would pose a potential crisis of legitimacy for the Islamic Republic, which was established as an alternative to monarchy but which many Iranians already see as a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

Here’s a look at what comes next.

How does Iran’s government work?

Iran holds regular elections for president and parliament with universal su rage.

But the supreme leader has nal say on all major policies, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The supreme leader also appoints half of the 12-member Guardian Council, a clerical body that vets candidates for president, parliament and the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of jurists in charge of choosing the supreme leader.

In theory, the clerics oversee the republic to ensure it complies with Islamic law. In practice, the supreme leader carefully manages the ruling system to balance competing interests, advance his own priorities and ensure that no one challenges the Islamic Republic or his role atop it.

Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a protege of Khamenei, was elected president in 2021 after the Guardian Council blocked any other well-known candidate from running against him, and turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic. He succeeded Hassan Rouhani, a

relative moderate who had served as president for the past eight years and defeated Raisi in 2017.

After Raisi’s death, in accordance with Iran’s constitution, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, a relative unknown, became caretaker president, with elections mandated within 50 days. That vote will likely be carefully managed to produce a president who maintains the status quo. That means Iran will continue to impose some degree of Islamic rule and crack down on dissent. It will enrich uranium, support armed groups across the Middle

East and view the West with deep suspicion. What does this mean for succession?

Presidents come and go, some more moderate than others, but each operates under the structure of the ruling system.

If any major change occurs in Iran, it is likely to come after the passing of Khamenei, when a new supreme leader will be chosen for only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Khamenei succeeded the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The next supreme leader will be chosen by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who are elected every eight years from candidates vetted by the Guardian Council. In the most recent election, in March, Rouhani was barred from running, while Raisi won a seat. Any discussion of the succession, or machinations related to it, occur far from the public eye, making it hard to know who may be in the running. But the two people seen by analysts as most likely to succeed Khamenei were Raisi and the supreme leader’s own son, Mojtaba, 55, a Shiite cleric who has never held government o ce.

What happens if the supreme leader’s son succeeds him?

Leaders of the Islamic Republic going back to the 1979 revolution have portrayed their system as superior, not only to the democracies of a decadent West, but to the military dictatorships and monarchies that prevail across the Middle East.

The transfer of power from the supreme leader to his son could spark anger, not only among Iranians who are critical of clerical rule but supporters of the system who might see it as un-Islamic. Western sanctions linked to the nuclear program have devastated Iran’s economy. And the enforcement of Islamic rule, which grew more severe under Raisi, has further alienated women and young people.

The Islamic Republic has faced several waves of popular protests in recent years, most recently after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly not covering her hair in public. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 were detained in a violent crackdown. Raisi’s death may make the transition to a new supreme leader trickier, and it could spark more unrest.

Assange wins right to appeal extradition to United States

The 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder is wanted on espionage charges

By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless

The Associated Press

LONDON — WikiLeaks

founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.

High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. gov-

ernment provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.

Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classi ed U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.

Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.

Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S.

should “read the situation” and drop the case.

“As a family we are relieved, but how long can this go on?” she said. “This case is shameful, and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian.”

The Australian computer expert has spent the last ve years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.

American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and

military les that WikiLeaks published.

Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “ agrant denial of justice.”

The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classi ed government documents.

The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over

Assange’s claim that by releasing the con dential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.

IRANIAN FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OFFICE VIA AP

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, right, now acting president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leads a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Monday.

KIN CHEUNG / AP PHOTO A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London on Monday. A British court ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.

(Taylor) Drye

April 17, 1936 ~ January 14, 2023

Agnes Fudge Bost

April 26, 1931 – May 15, 2024

Barbara Jean Taylor Drye, 86, of Oakboro, passed away Saturday, January 14, 2023 at her home.

Barbara was born April 17, 1936 in North Carolina to the late Robert Lee Taylor and the late Eva Belle Watts Taylor. She was also preceded in death by husband of 61 years, Keith Furr Drye, and brothers, Robert Lee Taylor, Jr. and George Kenneth Taylor.

Survivors include children, Debbie (Mike) Williams of Albemarle, Teresa (Tom) Curry of Oakboro, Douglas (Tammy) Drye of Oakboro; grandchildren, Melissa (Don) Parrish of Albemarle, Samantha (Destiny) Smith of Oakboro, Bradley Smith of Oakboro, Jonathan Stover of Peachland, and Jessie Stover of Lylesville; sisterin-law, Beatrice Goodman; many nieces and nephews; and her beloved cats, Bo and Gar eld.

Barbara was a member of Oakboro Baptist Church for over 60 years. She worked over 30 years at Stanly Knitting Mills. After just two years of retirement, she began managing the Oakboro Senior Center and did that for 18 years until this past week. Barbara was known for her good cooking and always taking care of others. She also loved going on day long shopping trips - she could out walk and out shop people half her age. She kept her mind and body active through gardening, word searches, and various other hobbies.

Agnes Fudge Bost, 93, of Murrells Inlet, SC, previously of Mint Hill, NC passed away Wednesday, May 15, 2024, at Legacy Village of Murrells Inlet, SC. Mrs. Bost was born April 26, 1931, in Edgemoor, South Carolina to the late William Frank Fudge Sr. and the late Margaret Olivia Fudge. She was also preceded in death by her beloved husband, Robert Thomas Bost, Sr., son, Robert Thomas Bost, Jr., brother, Harry Fudge, brother, William Frank Fudge, Jr., brother, James Thomas Fudge, brother, Fred Fudge, brother, Gerald Fudge, brother, Donnie Fudge sister, Dorothy Hart, sister, Thelma Fudge, sister, Jean Loftin. Mrs. Bost was born in Edgemoor, SC where she lived until she moved to the capital city of Columbia to attend nursing school. Due to unforeseen family needs Agnes made the decision to return to her hometown and leave her dream of becoming a nurse. Instead, she became the caregiver for her mother. As time moved forward, Agnes decided on her next move which would lead her to Charlotte,

Richard Lee Costantino

June 12, 1943 – May 11, 2024

Richard Lee Costantino, 80, of Concord, North Carolina, passed away Saturday, May 11, 2024. Rick was born June 12, 1943, in Freeport, Pennsylvania, to the late John and Mary Costantino. He was also preceded in death by 7 siblings, Joseph Costantino, Catherine Buzzard, Emma Powers, John Costantino, Mary Steele, Arthur Costantino and Alfred Costantino. Rick had worked at Basham’s Gulf Station in Washington, DC, where he met his future wife. He retired from Burrell

Dwight Farmer

January 24, 1939 ~ January 15, 2023

Dwight Britten Farmer Sr., 83, of Norwood died Sunday morning, January 15, 2023 at Forrest Oakes.

Dwight was born January 24, 1939 in Stanly County to the late Walter Virgil and Martha Adkins Farmer. He was a 1957 graduate of Norwood High School and was a United States Army Veteran.

He was a member of Cedar Grove United Methodist Church where he had served as church treasurer and choir member. He began his career with the Stanly County Sheri ’s Department moving to the Norwood Police Department and retiring as Chief of Police with the Town of Norwood after many years of service.

Dwight was an avid gardener, bird watcher and Carolina fan.

He is survived by his wife Hilda Whitley Farmer; one son D. Britten Farmer Jr. (Mary) of McLeansville, NC; one daughter Sharon Farmer Lowe (David) of Norwood; one sister Geraldine Dennis of Troy; two grandchildren, Dwight Britten “Dee” Farmer III and Whitley Rose Hui Lowe.

He was preceded in death by his son Alex, brothers, Tommy and Jimmy, sisters, Nancy, Cornelia Annabell, Glennie Mae, and Betty. Memorials may be made to Cedar Grove United Methodist Church, Cemetery or Choir Fund c/o Pam Smith 36071 Rocky River Springs Road, Norwood, NC 28128.

NC, where she met her future husband, Robert Bost. Agnes and Robert were married for 66 years before his passing in June of 2020. Together they raised a son who completed their family. Unfortunate circumstances led to his passing during his adult life. Their son brought Agnes two grandsons, Karl who lives in Mooresville, NC, and Wesley, who resides in Concord, NC. Agnes worked for Southern Bell, now AT&T, for 32 years. She began her employment as a switchboard operator, eventually transferring to long-distance call investigator. Agnes was a member of Dulins Grove Advent Christian Fellowship for many years; she served as a Sunday school teacher and assisted with the daycare. In 2008, she became a member of the Hope Community Fellowship Advent Christian Church of Charlotte where she remains a member to this day. Agnes' greatest ministry was sending cards to everyone; if you received one of Agnes' cards, you were blessed. She was known for her beautiful smile and being full of laughter! Agnes also loved the voluntary work at the VFW in Mint Hill, NC working with the veterans. In 2022, Agnes moved to Murrells Inlet to enjoy her retirement years near the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. The following year she moved to Legacy Village and has never looked back. Agnes enjoyed the activities and lunch outings. She stated, "I'm so blessed every day with the love and care I receive from the sta , along with my friends and family that visit every day." From Legacy Village, “We love having Agnes in our community; she is an absolute treasure with a kind spirit and beautiful smile for everyone.”

Coleman

Celebrate the life of your loved ones. Submit obituaries and death notices to be published in SCJ at obits@stanlyjournal.com

Construction after more than 30 years of service. In retirement, Rick worked several part-time jobs, enjoyed mowing grass and playing the lottery. He was an avid sports fan, having played baseball and softball. He also enjoyed coaching his son’s baseball and basketball teams and refereeing WPIAL basketball. Rick was mechanically inclined. He was very generous and strong-willed. He was a former member of St. James Parish, Apollo, PA. Most of all, Rick was a loving husband and was lovingly referred to as “Bop” by his children and grandchildren. Rick is survived by his beloved wife of 58 years, Donna Costantino of Concord, NC; daughter, Renee (Chris) Nauyokas of Apollo, PA; daughter, Michele (Todd) Coccaro of Concord, NC; son, Tony (Allison) Costantino of Simpsonville, SC; brothers, Robert Costantino and Charles Costantino; sisters, Betty Basham and Margaret Costantino; grandchildren, Carly, Kylee and Brady Coccaro, Janet and Ryan Nauyokas, Caitlyn, Chloe and Caleb Costantino; and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family.

June 23, 1967 ~ January 10, 2023

Robert Glenn Hill Sr.

James Arthur Roseboro, 55, of Albemarle, passed away Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at Anson Health and Rehab.

July 29, 1950 – May 14, 2024

Mr. Roseboro was born on June 23, 1967 to the late Robert and Delena Shipp Roseboro. He graduated from South Stanly High School and was employed by Triangle Brick. He enjoyed watching football and basketball, especially the Carolina TarHeels and Miami.

In addition to his parents he is preceded in death by his brothers and sisters: Barbara Lee Roseboro, Dorothy Brown, Verna Roseboro, Henrietta Ingram, and Harold Roseboro.

He is survived by his sisters: Helen (James) Roseboro Edwards of Albemarle, Mary Roseboro of Washington DC, and Marion Morrison of Albemarle; brothers: Thomas D. Roseboro of Charlotte, Robert Roseboro (Patricia) of Norwood, and Van Horne; a special friend of over 40 years, Michelle McLendon of the home; special nieces: Nybrea Montague, Knya Little, and Laquanza Crump; special nephews: Robert Jr., Desmond Roseboro, and Marcus Lilly; and God daughter, Daphne Johnson; and special friends, Vetrella Johnson and Ben McLendon.

Robert (Grover) Glenn Hill, Sr., of Davidson, passed away on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, surrounded by his family. Grover, a ectionately known by his family as "Papa," was born on July 29, 1950, to the late Robert and Florence Hill. He is preceded in death by his precious wife, Sherry Benell Hill. Grover is lovingly survived by his son, Robert G. Hill, Jr. (Melinda); his grandchildren, Sara Roux (Robert), Cade Hill, and Lily Hill, all of Davidson, NC. He is also survived by his brother, Greg Hill, and his nieces, Madison Hill and Erica Sisk (Sheldon). Grover was notably known for his strength, wisdom, and his athletic accolades at North Stanly High School and Western Carolina University, where he set many records. He was most proud of the family legacy at Western Carolina University, attended by him, his wife, his son, and his granddaughters. After retiring from UPS as a truck driver, Grover truly enjoyed spending time with his family and friends, especially over weekends at Badin Lake, WCU football games, gatherings with his cousins, and attending his grandson’s athletic events.

Darrick Baldwin

January 7, 1973 ~ January 8,

Darrick Vashon Baldwin, age 50, entered eternal rest, Sunday, January 8, 2023, Albemarle, North Carolina. Born January 7, 1973, in Stanly County, North Carolina, Darrick was the son of Eddie James Baldwin Sr. and the late Phyllis Blue Baldwin. Darrick enjoyed life, always kept things lively and enjoyed making others smile. His presence is no longer in our midst, but his memory will forever live in our hearts.

Lynn Amanda Freund

November 17, 1946 –May 12, 2024

He was educated in the Stanly County public schools and attended Albemarle Senior High School, Albemarle.

Lynn Amanda Freund, 77, of Concord, passed away Sunday, May 12, 2024, at Atrium Health Cabarrus Hospital in Concord. Lynn was born November 17, 1946, in Wisconsin to the late Louis Raymond Freund and

He was a great conversationalist and loved meeting people. Darrick never met a stranger and always showed love and compassion for his fellowman. He also loved his dog, Rocky.

He is survived by his father, Eddie J. Baldwin Sr.; sisters: Crystal (Eric) Jackson, LaFondra (Stoney) Medley, and Morgan Baldwin; brothers: Eddie Baldwin Jr., Anton Baldwin, and Lamont Baldwin; a host of other relatives and friends. A limb has fallen from our family tree. We will not grieve Darrick’s death; we will celebrate his life. We give thanksgiving for the many shared memories.

Reba Jean Krimminger

March 23, 1935 - January 9, 2023

January 5, 1945 –May 14, 2024

John grew up in the Millingport community where he drove a school bus and worked at the local gas station during his High School years. He graduated from Millingport High in 1954 and entered into service with the US Airforce immediately afterward. Upon return from the service, he and his high school sweetheart Julie were married in 1956. He graduated from Nashville Auto Diesel College later in 1959 and began his career as a diesel mechanic at Mitchell Distributing Company, moving his growing family to Charlotte where they lived until their retirement.

Reba Jean Helms Krimminger, 79, of Oakboro, passed away Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at Atrium Health Stanly Hospital in Albemarle. Reba was born January 5, 1945, in North Carolina to the late Walter Reece Helms and the late Ruby Louise Helms of Oakboro. She was also preceded in death by her sister, Kay H. Huneycutt of Oakboro. Reba will be greatly missed by family and friends. She loved owers, angels, and cardinals. She loved her family ercely and she loved helping those in need. Reba had a saying that she would say from time to time, "Red bird, red bird, I see a red bird. I will see my sweetheart before my day ends.

When John purchased his rst Model A Ford at the age of 17, he said that he took the car to the community mechanic when he had a small problem.The mechanic told him that if he was going to keep the car, he needed to learn to work on it. This is when John’s passion for Model A Fords began and how he spent his happiest days with his best friends from around the globe for the rest of his life!

“Survivors include husband, Kenneth Ray Krimminger of Oakboro, NC.; son, Timothy R Krimminger of Oakboro, NC; daughter, Angela K Gardner (Casey) of Monroe, NC; nephew, Randy L. Huneycutt (Paula) of Oakboro, NC; granddaughter, Cassidy Gardner; brothers, Larry R. Helms and Jerry L. Helms.

At age 50, after years as a Detroit Diesel Mechanic he and Julie decided to take the plunge and open a full Model A Restoration Shop. They thrived at their shop in Cornelius, NC until their retirement in 1998 when they moved back to Cabarrus County. John once again set up shop in his back yard garage where he attracted a loyal group of friends who visited almost daily.

While on the farm in Gold Hill, John also began a lifelong love with Alis Chalmers tractors after he restored his Dad’s tractor and began amassing his collection of tractors as well.

the late Dorothy Freund. She was also preceded in death by brother-in-law Gary Allen West. Lynn graduated from Fox Valley Lutheran High School in Appleton, WI in 1964, she then went on to receive her masters from UW- Madison . Lynn was an Army veteran of 20 years. Honorably discharged with the rank Chief Warrant O cer 4, served in Signal Corps. Lynn was a consummate Cheesehead, life-long Green Bay Packers fan and more recently Atlanta Braves fan. She an avid reader, loved sci- (Dune, Star Trek NOT Stars Wars), and enjoyed watching old movies. She loved to travel, especially art history tours in Europe. She also loved a daily beer or good gin martini and never turned down a Sheboygan brat. Survivors include sister, Katherine West of Charlotte, NC, Sister, Mary JoAnn, Freund of TX, Sister, Marcia Marie Freund of AZ, and numerous cousins across the country.

John restored many cars of his own and had the crowning achievement of winning the most prestigious award from MARC, The Henry for a restoration that garnered top points. He was also presented with the Ken Brady Service Awardthe highest award given to members at the national level.

This is what John’s Model A Community had to say upon learning of his death: He was an active member of Wesley Chapel Methodist Church where he loved serving as greeter on Sunday mornings. He also belonged to the United Methodist Men. John is survived by his wife Julie Ussery Kluttz, for 66 years of the home. He is also survived by a son John David Kluttz (Kim) of Oakboro, NC; two daughters, Sally Simerson of Denver, CO and Betsy Tusa (John) of Lafayette, CO; three grandchildren, Bonnie Kluttz Sammons (Ben) of Rich eld, NC John Alexander McKinnon (Sarah) of Asheville, NC and Seth William McKinnon (Amanda) of Germany; ve great-grandchildren, Charlotte, Meredith, Grant, Victoria and Ronan. John is also preceded in death by his parents, J.S. Kluttz and Mary Wyatt Clayton Kluttz; a large and loving group of brothers and sisters, Jack Methias Kluttz, Annie Lou Kluttz Honeycutt, Jake Nelson Kluttz, Julius Kluttz, Mary Patricia Phillips and a grandson, Kevin Fowler Kluttz.

Wanda Barlow Eudy

October 11, 1944 - January 10, 2023

October 10, 1952 –May 12, 2024

Doris Elaine Jones Coleman, 78, went home into God’s presence on January 10 after a sudden illness and a valiant week-long ght in ICU. Doris was born on October 11, 1944, in the mountains of Marion, NC while her father was away ghting in the US Navy during World War II. Raymond Jones was so proud to return after the war and meet his little girl! Doris grew up in Durham, NC and graduated from Durham High School. She furthered her studies at Watts Hospital School of Nursing in Durham and graduated as a Registered Nurse in 1966.

Doris married Rev. Dr. Ted Coleman in 1966 and had two daughters Amy and Laura. Doris raised Amy and Laura in North Augusta, SC. Doris was an incredible neonatal intensive care nurse for most of her career, and this was her passion. The Augusta Chronicle did a feature on her in 1985. She was a clinical nurse manager in Augusta, Georgia at University Hospital NICU and worked there for 20 years. During this time, Doris mentored young nurses and assisted in saving the lives of so many babies. She also worked for Pediatrician Dr. William A. Wilkes in Augusta for several years prior to her NICU career. Doris retired from the mother/baby area at Atrium Stanly in 2007 after over 40 years of nursing.

Wanda Lou Eudy, 71, of Locust, North Carolina, passed away Sunday, May 12, 2024, peacefully, at home with family by her side. Wanda was born October 10, 1952, in North Carolina to the late Curtis Barlow and the late Leejay Roscoe Barlow. Wanda was a very devoted wife, mother and aunt who cherished her family. She loved hard and she loved unconditionally. Spending time with her family, laughing and having fun always warmed her heart and brought a smile to her face. Wanda was a genuine animal lover and had several pets over the years. Wanda was also intrigued by astronomy, was an avid reader and she was a lover of sunsets. She worked for many years as a manager in the restaurant industry and always went the extra mile for her customers. Wanda will be dearly missed by all who loved her. Wanda is survived by her beloved husband, John Eudy of Locust, NC; daughter Lisa (Butch) Macabee of Blacksburg, NC; sons Dwayne Scott Barlow of Charlotte, NC and Joseph Bradley of Belmont, NC; step-children John Dewayne (Linda) Eudy of Angier, NC, Tony (T.J.) Eudy of Ocala, FL, and Steven Eudy of Ashville, NC. She is also survived by her sister Sandra Barlow Shaw of Wallace, SC; her niece Tammy (Mike) Holbrooks of Concord, NC; and nephew David (Lisa) Caulder of Oxford, MI; several grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. Wanda was preceded in death by four siblings, Angela Barlow Wix, Richard Barlow, Patsy Barlow Threlkeld, Ronland Barlow and brother-in-law Mitchell Shaw.

Doris was a gentle and sweet spirit and loved her Lord. She never met a stranger, and she always left you feeling uplifted after talking with her. She would often claim that she had “adopted” friends into her immediate family, and honestly, she never made a distinction between the two. Positivity radiated from her like sunlight. She was sel ess, funny, smart, and sentimental. During her lifetime she was an active member of First Baptist Church of Durham, First Baptist Church of Augusta, Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Augusta, and Palestine United Methodist Church in Albemarle. She especially loved helping at church with older adults, youth, and children.

She was especially talented at sewing from a young age and made gifts for friends, Christmas ornaments, Halloween Costumes, doll clothes, pageant dresses, prom dresses, coats, tote bags, scarves, out ts for Amy and Laura, and Christening gowns for each of her grandchildren.

Doris was preceded in death by her father Arthur Raymond Jones, her mother Mary Ellen Cameron Jones, and her sister Maryanne Jones Brantley. Survivors include her two precious daughters: Amy Cameron Coleman (partner Dr. Edward Neal Chernault) of Albemarle, NC, and Laura Lindahl Coleman Oliverio (husband David) of Cincinnati, Ohio; seven grandchildren: Cameron David Oliverio, Stephanie Jae Dejak, Luca Beatty Oliverio, Coleman John Dejak, Carson Joseph Oliverio, Ryan Nicholas Dejak, and Jadon Richard Oliverio; and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews, cousins, and loved ones.

STATE & NATION

Last student who helped integrate the UNC’s undergraduate body dies

Ralph Kennedy Frasier died May 8 at age 85

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the nal surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill in the 1950s, has died.

Frasier, who had been in declining health over the past several months, died May 8 at age 85 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, according to son Ralph Frasier Jr. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, where Frasier spent much of his working career.

Frasier, his older brother LeRoy, and John Lewis Brandon — all Durham high school classmates — fought successfully against Jim Crow laws when they were able to attend UNC in the fall of 1955. LeRoy Frasier died in late 2017, with Brandon following weeks later.

Initially, the Hillside High

School students’ enrollment applications were denied even though the UNC law school had been integrated a few years earlier. The landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation happened in 1954. The trustee board of UNC — the nation’s oldest public university — then passed a resolution

barring the admission of blacks as undergraduates. The students sued and a federal court ordered they be admitted. The ruling ultimately was a rmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The trio became plainti s, in part, because their families were insulated from nancial retribution — the brothers’ parents

worked for black-owned North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, for example. The brothers were 14 months apart in age, but Ralph started his education early.

After the legal victory, it still was not easy being on campus.

In an interview at the time of his brother’s death, Frasier recalled that the school’s golf course and the university-owned Carolina Inn were o -limits. At football games, they were seated in a section with custodial workers, who were black. The three lived on their own oor of a section of a dormitory.

“Those days were probably the most stressful of my life,” Frasier told The Associated Press in 2010 when the three visited Chapel Hill to be honored. “I can’t say that I have many happy memories.”

The brothers studied three years at Chapel Hill before Ralph left for the Army and LeRoy for the Peace Corps. Attending UNC “was extremely tough on them. They were tired,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said this week in an interview.

The brothers later graduated from North Carolina Central

Court: Drone pilot can’t o er mapping without NC surveyor’s license

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate a drone photography pilot’s constitutional rights when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a trial court’s decision, found the free-speech protections of Michael Jones and his 360 Virtual Drone Services business weren’t violated by the state’s requirement for a license to o er surveying services.

The litigation marked an emerging con ict between technology disrupting the handson regulated profession of surveying. A state license requires educational and technical experience, which can include examinations and apprenticeships.

Jones sought to expand his drone pilot career by taking composite images that could assist construction companies and others with bird’s-eye views of their interested tracts of land. The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors began investigating his activities in late 2018.

A federal appeals court agreed that a North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate the constitutional rights of drone photographer Michael Jones, pictured in 2021 in Goldsboro, when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license.

The board wrote to Jones in June 2019 and ordered him to stop engaging in “mapping, surveying and photogrammetry; stating accuracy; providing location and dimension data; and producing orthomosaic maps, quantities and topographic information.” Performing surveying work without a license can subject someone to civil and criminal liability. By then, Jones had placed a

disclaimer on his website saying the maps weren’t meant to replace proper surveys needed for mortgages, title insurance and land-use applications. He stopped trying to develop his mapping business but remained interested in returning to the eld in the future, according to Monday’s opinion. So he sued board members in 2021 on First Amendment grounds.

U.S. District Judge Louise

Flanagan sided with the board members last year, determining that the rules withstood scrutiny because they created a generally applicable licensing system that regulated primarily conduct rather than speech.

Circuit Judge Jim Wynn, writing Monday’s unanimous opinion by the three-member panel, said determining whether such a business prohibition crosses over to a signi cant

University in Durham, a historically black college. LeRoy Frasier worked as an English teacher for many years in New York. Brandon got his degrees elsewhere and worked in the chemical industry.

Frasier also obtained a law degree at N.C. Central, after which began a long career in legal services and banking, rst with Wachovia and later Huntington Bancshares in Columbus.

Ralph Frasier was proud of promoting racial change in the Columbus business community and by serving on a committee that helped put two black jurists on the federal bench, his son said.

Relationships with UNC improved, leading to the 2010 campus celebration of their pioneering e orts, and scholarships were named in their honor.

Still, Ralph Frasier Jr. said it was disappointing to see the current UNC Chapel Hill trustee board vote this week to recommend diverting money from diversity programs for next year.

“It’s almost a smack in the face and a step backwards in time,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said. The action comes as the UNC system’s Board of Governors will soon decide whether to rework its diversity policy for the 17 campuses statewide.

Frasier’s survivors include his wife of 42 years, Jeannine Marie Quick-Frasier; six children, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

speech restriction can be dicult.

“Even where a regulation is in fact aimed at professional conduct, States must still be able to articulate how the regulation is su ciently drawn to promote a substantial state interest,” Wynn said.

In this case, he wrote, it’s important that people can rely on surveyors to provide accurate maps. And there’s no evidence that the maps that Jones wants to create would constitute “unpopular or dissenting speech,” according to Wynn.

“There is a public interest in ensuring there is an incentive for individuals to go through that rigorous process and become trained as surveyors,” he wrote, adding the licensing law “protects consumers from potentially harmful economic and legal consequences that could ow from mistaken land measurements.”

Sam Gedge, an attorney at the Institute for Justice rm representing Jones, said Monday that he and his client want to further appeal the case, whether through the full 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, or at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling says “the state can criminalize sharing certain types of photos without a government-issued license. And it does so on the theory that such a law somehow does not regulate ‘speech,’” Gedge wrote in an email. “That reasoning is badly awed. Taking photos and providing information to willing clients is speech, and it’s fully protected by the First Amendment.”

Joining Wynn — a former North Carolina appeals court judge — in Monday’s opinion were Circuit Judges Steven Agee and Stephanie Thacker.

RUDOLPH FAIRCLOTH / AP PHOTO

Ralph Frasier, right, the nal surviving member of a trio of black students who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill, died May 8 at age 85 in Florida.

GERRY BROOME / AP PHOTO

Randolph record

On the road again

U.S. Highway 421 will eventually become Interstate 685 between I-85 in Greensboro to I-95 in Harnett County. The new interstate will run through the heart of the 120-mile Carolina Core strategic development area that stretches from Winston-Salem to Fayetteville. Above, N.C. Transportation Board member Lisa Mathis and Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins stand next to a Future I-685 sign.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Malfunctioning tra c lights to become all-way stops

NCDOT is updating the state’s tra c signals so they will ash red in every direction following an equipment failure or something else that disrupts normal operation. Currently, a malfunctioning signal ashes yellow on the main corridor and red on smaller roads.

As drivers approach an intersection that is malfunctioning, the red ashing light should be treated as a stop sign.

NCDOT has more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, including those operated by municipal agreements in several cities. The department will phase in this change over the next year as part of the preventative maintenance it already conducts on tra c signals.

NCWRC warns:

Don’t feed the bears!

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding North Carolinians that the state’s bear population continues to grow and, with humanbear interactions increasing, to make sure never to feed or approach bears and to make sure bird feeders and garbage are secure. Perhaps more important is advice to never handle, attempt to catch or feed bear cubs — even if they appear to be alone. Mother bears will frequently temporarily leave their cubs in a safe place but remain nearby and could defend their cubs or, worse, abandon them after interactions with humans.

For more on black bears, visit bearwise.org

Asheboro to conduct downtown parking study

The city will solicit professional services to nd a way to improve conditions

By Ryan Henkel Randolph Record

THE ASHEBORO City Council met May 9, approving study of parking downtown.

“Downtown parking availability and management has been an ongoing issue as our downtown has continued to revitalize,” said Community De -

velopment Director Trevor Nuttall at the meeting.

“We think it’s time to bring in an expert in parking operations to look at our existing inventory, supply and demand and present you with potential changes to regulations and policies and o er strategies to improve the overall parking conditions downtown.”

In other business, the council will ask the N.C. Division of Aviation for a recommendation to apply for as much as $2 million in new FAA funds to help with the construction of a new

“Downtown parking availability and management has been an ongoing issue.”

Community Development Director Trevor Nuttall

terminal building at the airport.

The council also approved allowing the Asheboro police department to participate in the Atlanta-Carolinas High In-

tensity Drug Tra cking Area multi-jurisdictional public safety program, allowing data collected by license plate reader technology to be shared across more than 300 law enforcement agencies.

In less a pair of rezoning requests were approved, as were multiple contracts for the purchase of seven chemicals needed by the water resource division.

“We received a total of 15 bid packages for the seven chemicals that are needed in our wastewater collection system treatment,” said Water Resources Director Michael Rhoney. “Prices have somewhat stabilized and the cost of market in 2023 was horrible and that price signi cantly reduced in this bid and we will see some savings there.”

The Asheboro City Council will next meet June 6.

gans were to be donated.

The sophomore played on the boys’ soccer team

Randolph Record sta

ASHEBORO — The Southwestern Randolph High School community is mourning the loss of 16-year Pedro Ortiz-Perez, who died in a fatal shooting earlier this month.

Ortiz-Perez, a Southwestern Randolph sophomore, died May 14 from injuries sustained in the May 3 incident near North Asheboro Park, Asheboro police said. He had been transported to the emergency room at Randolph Hospital by vehicle after sustaining a gunshot wound to the jaw and neck. He was later transferred to UNC Medical Center in Chapel Hill.

A statement from the Southwestern Randolph boys’ soccer team, which he was an active member, said Ortiz-Perez was “a kind-hearted and enthusiastic young man. His passion for the game was infectious, and he brought a positive energy to every practice and game.

… The news sent shockwaves through our team and Southwestern Randolph High School, leaving us devastated and struggling to come to terms with the loss of someone so young and full of life.” In a statement following the shooting, police said they don’t believe Ortiz-Perez was the intended target.

The suspect, a 16-year-old whose name hasn’t been released by police due to privacy laws, was

arrested May 10 in Statesville. He faces charges of attempted murder, discharging a rearm into a vehicle and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. The Asheboro Police Department announced that “in light of this tragic development, upgraded charges will be presented to the grand jury for indictment.”

Friends and family gathered last week at the hospital for an honor walk as Ortiz-Perez’s or-

“He was dearly loved by his classmates and the sta members at Southwestern Randolph High School as well as many other people throughout our community,” read a statement issued by Randolph Schools Superintendent Stephen Gainey. “It is with extremely heavy hearts that the members of the Randolph County Board of Education and I extend our condolences to Pedro Ortiz-Perez’s family as well as the students, sta members, and community members of Southwestern Randolph High School.”

The soccer team’s statement went on: “Pedro may no longer be with us in person, but his spirit lives on in the bonds we’ve formed and the lessons we’ve learned. As we continue our journey, we carry his memory with us, a constant reminder of the impact one person can have on a team and a community.”

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Pedro Ortiz-Perez, in the white jersey, is shown playing earlier this school year against Randleman in boys’ soccer.

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

North State

Neal

P.J.

The Fire Grant helps local departments with funding to purchase equipment

By Ena Sellers Randolph Record

THE NORTH CAROLINA

O

ce of State Fire Marshal announced the recipients of the 2024 Volunteer Fire Department Fund, also known as Fire Grant, on May 15.

Three departments in Randolph County received more than $42,000 between them. Farmer Fire was awarded $19,984, New Hope Fire received $11,619 and Ram-

seur Fire received $10,571. The money will go toward new equipment and must be paired with matching funds.

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities,” stated Brian Taylor, State Fire Marshal in the announcement. “Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely.”

The letters notifying each re department of the grant award and thanking them for

their hard work and dedication were sent last week.

According to the OSFM these funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar for up to $40,000, unless the re department receives less than $50,000 per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the volunteer re department will need to match $1 for each $3 of grant funds. The grant award is administered through the N.C. Department of Insurance.

The Volunteer Fire Department Fund was created in 1988 by the General Assembly to help volunteer units raise funds for their re ghting equipment and supplies.

day at the Veterans Memorial near the historic Randolph County Courthouse on Worth Street in Asheboro.

Each year, a di erent branch of service is given special recognition during the ceremony. This year, it’s the U.S. Coast Guard.

Guide

The Randolph Guide is a quick look at what’s going on in Randolph County.

May 23

Archdale Field of Honor Daily through June 3

The third annual Archdale Field of Honor held at Creekside Park starts with a Dedication Ceremony on Thursday, May 23 at 5 p.m. in the eld beside the library. The Field of Honor will remain open daily through June 3. For more information or to sponsor a ag call 336-434-7315.

May 24

We

Flags will be placed at cemeteries before the Asheboro ceremony

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Placing ags at the graves of veterans is one of the activities taking place in advance of Memorial Day in Randolph County.

Rob Wilkins, commander of the Randolph County Veterans Council, said it’s an important undertaking.

“We need the public’s help,” Wilkins said. “We provide the ags for them. We want to encourage folks to do this whether they use our ags or purchase their own.”

At 9 a.m. Saturday, veterans organizations and volunteers will place American ags on graves of veterans at Randolph

May 14

• Daniel James Albright, 25, of Siler City, was arrested by Asheboro Police and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of failure to appear on misdemeanor, larceny, possessing stolen goods, breaking and or entering, larceny after breaking/ entering, and injury to real property. Albright was also served a warrant for two counts of breaking and or entering, felony conspiracy, injury to real property, larceny after breaking/ entering, felony conspiracy, and injury to real property.

• Donald Robert Bain, 44, of Spruce Pine, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of failure to appear on felony and possessing a stolen motor vehicle.

• Walter Dion Cheek, 50, of Ramseur, was arrested by Ramseur Police Department and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of second-degree trespassing and a felony probation violation.

• William James Taylor, 38, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro Police and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of interfering with an electronic monitoring device and a felony probation violation.

• Joshua Scott Thomas, 27, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro Police and booked into the Randolph County Jail on a domestic violence protection order violation.

Memorial Park and Oaklawn Cemetery in Asheboro.

Wilkins said there are more than 2,000 graves of veterans at those two sites combined. He said some graves are missing ags from a year ago and worn ags need to be replaced.

The Randolph County Veterans Council has been distributing ags this week at American Legion Post 45 to be placed on graves of local veterans as part of Operation Remembrance. The goal of Operation Remembrance is to ensure that every veteran’s grave in Randolph County is marked by an American ag each year for Memorial Day and Veterans Day.

With more than 300 cemeteries in Randolph County, community involvement is needed to achieve that goal, Wilkins said.

There will be a Memorial Day ceremony at 4 p.m. Mon-

• Joe Allen Woods, 53, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on a charge of assault on a female.

May 15

• Christopher Dylan Beane, 25, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of failure to appear on misdemeanor and failure to appear on felony.

• Harold Bryce Kinley, 38, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of failure to appear on felony and felony probation violation.

• Bryan James Williams, 38, of Trinity, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charged of possessing methamphetamine, possessing drug paraphernalia, possession of firearm by felon, breaking and or entering, larceny of a firearm, larceny of a motor vehicle, and injury to real property.

May 16

• Jonathan Cass Carter, 38, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of obtaining property by false pretense and possessing stolen goods and/or property.

• Kevin Gene Hamm, 31, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro Police and booked into the Randolph County Jail

That means that Wilkins will be the emcee and keynote speaker for the ceremony, which usually lasts about a half-hour. Wilkins served 21 years of active duty in the Coast Guard before returning to Asheboro. He’ll also be the grand marshal for the Veterans Day parade in November.

“There aren’t many Coasties around in Randolph County,” he said. There will be a reading of the names of all Randolph County residents who were killed in action and are listed on the local veterans memorial. Also, names will be read of all veterans who’ve died since last Memorial Day. With the Coast Guard the focus this year, a deceased member of that service is speci cally remembered as a fallen veteran during the ceremony. That will be Jack Kenan Marsh, an Asheboro man who died Jan. 22 at age 85.

on a charge of misdemeanor child abuse.

• Melissa Ann Lineberry, 34, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on a charge of non-support of child.

• Justin Andrew Merritt, 37, of Bladenboro, was arrested by Randleman Police Department and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of second-degree trespassing.

• James Joshua Thompson, 34, of Asheboro, was arrested by Randleman Police Department and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of felony stalking, cyberstalking, and two counts of felony probation violations.

May 17

• Constance Kay Burcham, 35, of Sophia, was arrested by Randolph Sheriff’s Office and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of a misdemeanor probation violation and simple possession of a schedule-II controlled-substance.

• Michael Antonio Harris, 40, of Asheboro, was arrested by Asheboro Police and booked into the Randolph County Jail on charges of two counts of larceny, possession of stolen goods/property, possession of drug paraphernalia, and a misdemeanor probation violation.

Asheboro ZooKeepers –Home Game

7 p.m.

Join the Asheboro ZooKeepers at historic McCrary Park for some great Coastal Plain League action. Formerly known as the Asheboro Copperheads, the ZooKeepers aim to continue the tradition of excellent baseball and family fun entertainment. Tickets must be purchased online at zookeepersbaseball.com.

May 25

Operation Remembrance

9 a.m.

An annual tradition, local veterans’ organizations and volunteers from the public will meet to place American ags on the graves of veterans at Randolph Memorial Park and at Oaklawn Cemetery in Asheboro.

Canine Champions for Conservation

11 a.m. / 1 p.m.

Back for a second year at the North Carolina Zoo, Canine Champions for Conservation is a fun, high-energy show starring dogs rescued from shelters to raise awareness and support for conservation e orts. Shows run Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day weekend and are free with entry to the North Carolina Zoo!

Asheboro Summer Cruise Series

6 p.m.

Asheboro Summer Cruise-In Series will be hosting a cruise in the parking lot of the Randolph County Courthouse. View beautiful cars and enjoy a variety of delicious concessions from Bubba’s Sweet Treats food truck.

Guide THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| SUSAN ESTRICH

The prosecution has made its case

Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s. The big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case or whether the jury will accept it but whether it all will matter.

DID DONALD TRUMP falsify business records to cover up his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels? Did he do it to hold onto women voters in the days leading up to the 2016 election?

Reading the daily press accounts of the New York trial leaves little doubt that the prosecution made its case.

Michael Cohen is a liar, convicted as one, but his testimony addressed and answered the key questions in the case. Daniels at one point denied having an a air with the former president, but she did not waver at the trial. Her account of her interaction with the former president was searing. The records were clear. Hush money is not a legal expense. Cohen did what he was told. Trump was fully on board. What more could you expect from the prosecution?

With closing arguments expected to come as soon as next week, the defense has yet to introduce an alternative narrative of what happened here.

There is no alternative narrative. They may claim it was all to protect his family, to shield Melania from embarrassment, but Hope Hicks made clear there was a political imperative. And who would believe that it was all for Melania? It was for Trump.

Even the most cynical of the talking heads acknowledged that over the course of the trial,

the chances of a conviction increased. The question, and it has always been the question, is to what end? Will the jury convict?

Juries like judges, and this one, by all reports, should command the greatest respect of the jurors. He has controlled the courtroom, been even-tempered and even-handed. The judge will read the instructions, inform the jury of the elements of the crime and ask them to apply the law to the facts they nd. It should not be di cult.

This is not a complex fact situation. It was a straightforward payo for an obvious purpose — and it worked, until it didn’t. If the jury does what the judge instructs them to, and there is no reason at this point to think they will not, it should not be di cult for them to reach a verdict.

Will they be swayed by the fact that they are convicting a former president?

It could happen, of course, but they have been sitting in a courtroom with him for over a month. He has, in all likelihood, been reduced to human size.

They’ve watched him squirm and smirk and struggle to stay awake.

Whatever kismet he brought to the room when they rst confronted him should have worn o by now. He is human-sized. Their job is straightforward, for all the historical footnotes.

No, the big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case — it has — or whether the jury will accept it — they should — but whether it all will matter. Signi cant numbers of voters have told pollsters that a criminal conviction will make them less likely to vote for Trump, but will it really? Will they simply accept this, as they did the E. Jean Carroll verdict, as yet another example of Trump being Trump? So he paid hush money to a woman with whom he had an exploitive sexual relationship. So he did it to try to protect himself in the presidential election. So he falsi ed it as legal expenses. So what? At what point is enough enough? At what point will people with morals and values be unwilling to compromise on a leader who is de cient on both scores? The parade of Republicans who have shown up at the courthouse to support Trump during this trial is a testament to the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. They should be ashamed of themselves. Only half in jest, they were willing to risk control of the House oor to get in line for the cameras and kiss the ring. Someday, hopefully, we will look back on all of this and wonder how so many people who should know better took temporary leave of their senses to stand by a man who does not deserve their support. But between now and then, the jurors and then the voters must decide.

The world’s — and the Pacific Rim’s — disastrous population implosion

WILL THE WORLD be better o with fewer people?

For years that has been a hypothetical question posed to suggest an a rmative answer. Fewer people, it was claimed, would mean less depredation of natural resources, less urban overcrowding, more room for other species to stretch their (actual or metaphorical) legs. Mankind was a parasite, a blight, and overpopulation a disease. Fewer people would mean a better Earth.

Not everyone has agreed. More people, argued the late economist Julian Simon, means more inventors, more innovators, more creators. Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father’s 17 children. Would America, and the world, have been better o if his father had stopped at 14?

More people also means more consumers and taxpayers. More consumers to pay for the goods and services of private-sector workers. More taxpayers to pay for, among other things, bene ts for the elderly and in rm.

Whatever you think, whether the world would be better o with fewer people is no longer a hypothetical or rhetorical question. It is, it seems, a question squarely presented, or just about to be presented, by reality.

“Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep population constant,” Greg Ip and Janet Adamy write in The Wall Street Journal. “It may have already happened.”

The global replacement rate, they point out, is 2.2 children per woman, with the 0.2 representing the children who do not grow into adulthood and the excess of boys over girls in countries where many parents abort female babies. Demographers have long noticed the world is heading toward 2.2 but expected it to take longer to get there. The United Nations pegged it at 2.5 in 2017. It fell to 2.3 in 2021, and incoming data suggest it’s declined signi cantly since then.

Previous traumatic events have produced higher birthrates, like America’s and eventually Europe’s post-World War II baby boom. But the COVID-19 pandemic, after an initial spike in births resembling ones occurring nine months after electricity blackouts, has produced even fewer births than pessimistic experts predicted.

Total world population won’t start falling immediately. One estimate is that world population, now about 8.1 billion, will peak at 9.6 billion in 2061. The fears that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation have proved unfounded, and population control e orts by the likes of the Rockefeller Foundation and Warren Bu ett have petered out.

As technology historian Vaclav Smil points out, the discovery in 1908 of the Haber-Bosch process for producing synthetic ammonia has led to food production that can feed the world’s current billions and many more.

Thomas Malthus, who in 1798 wrote that any population increase would result in famine and disease, is dead.

Today the negative e ects of subreplacement population growth are already being felt. Government pensions and elderly medical care are proving di cult to sustain in the United States and western Europe.

Economic growth seldom rises to pre-2000 levels because the labor force is growing little, or even shrinking.

More striking e ects are seen in East Asia, as set out by American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt for Foreign A airs. Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s.

Decades later, the result is that East Asia’s working-age cohort is now shrinking. By 2050, it will have more people over 80 than children under 15.

These countries, Eberstadt writes, “will nd it harder to generate economic growth, accumulate investments, and build wealth; to fund their safety nets; and to mobilize their armed forces.” China may not be able to amass huge armies to overcome the U.S. and its allies as it did in Korea in 1950. But Japan and South Korea will not be able to raise troops in numbers they once did. And will China attack Taiwan before its cohort of military-age men shrinks further?

“The long-heralded ‘Asian century’ may never truly arrive,” Eberstadt writes. And on the other side of the Paci c Rim, between 2020 and 2023, California’s population fell by 538,000, or 1.4%. This is a reversal of more than 150 years of above-U.S.average growth and despite the state’s physical climate and beautiful scenery.

This astonishing trend owes much to dreadful public policies that have incentivized modest-income people with families, including immigrants, to move out, even though California still attracts highly skilled college graduates from “back East.” But how many children will they produce? Will a declining-in-fertility America produce enough o spring to replenish Silicon Valley and Hollywood?

Absent a horri c military clash, the Paci c Rim that has produced so much innovation seems about to settle into an increasingly uncomfortable, hardscrabble and uncreative old age, with no gaggles of nephews, nieces, grandchildren and cousins who give hope that things will keep improving.

Not the paradise the population control people promised.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

COLUMN

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

RandolpH SPORTS

Eastern Randolph’s Corea throws to state crown

Locals competed in the state track and eld championships

Randolph Record

GREENSBORO — Eastern Randolph’s Mirianna Corea won the girls’ discus in the Class 1-A track and eld state championships Monday.

The sophomore thrower unleashed a heave of 118 feet, 8 inches to win the event by more than 3 feet at the throwing area outside North Carolina A&T’s stadium.

The runner-up was North Rowan’s Brittany Ellis at 115-5.

Corea placed seventh in the shot put at 31-2. The winner was Ellis at 38-1¼.

The meet was originally sched-

uled for Saturday, but North Carolina High School Association o cials announced Friday that because of weather-related concerns the competition would be postponed until this week.

Class 3-A

Also Monday, Lance Everhart of Asheboro placed fourth in the boys’ pole vault in the Class 3-A track and eld state championships.

Everhart posted a successful launch at 13-6 for his best attempt. That was behind Swansboro’s James Yesunsas, who won at 14 feet.

Aaron Jennings of Franklin and Jake Carroll of Croatan also were good on attempts at 13-6 and nished ahead of Everhart based on number attempts.

Everhart, a senior, cleared 6-2 in the high jump before exiting in a tie for seventh place.

Everhart improved his nishes from a year ago in both events. He was eighth in the high jump and 11th in the pole vault in 2023.

Asheboro’s Valentino Mark ran 11.0 seconds in the 100-meter preliminaries and didn’t advance to the nal.

The Blue Comets boys had the 13th-best time in the 400 relay at 43.87. In girls’ competition, Asheboro ended up seventh in the 400 relay in 49.95 seconds. Greensboro Dudley won the event at 47.01.

High jumper Rebecca Wilson of Asheboro had a best leap of 4-10 in the high jump. That put her in 14th place.

Randleman’s Farlow leaps to state title

The high jumper took a calm approach to victory

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

GREENSBORO — Randleman’s Chase Farlow had a good feeling when he prepared to leave home Friday morning for the Class 2-A state track and eld championships.

That mood turned to elation by the time the high jump competition concluded. He was a state champion.

“You just want to feel it with the big meets,” Farlow said.

And he sure did. Farlow’s leap of 6 feet, 8 inches made him a winner at North Carolina A&T’s stadium.

At 6-8, Farlow was matched by East Burke senior Kenneth Byrd, but Farlow won the competition because it took him only two attempts at that height compared to Byrd’s three tries. Avery Fraley of East Burke was third at 6-6.

Farlow, a junior, made it over the bar without a miss through 6-6.

“I had a good warm-up and I kind of had a feeling,” he said.

He said his focus was good because he knew Byrd and Fraley would be contenders.

“I’m usually more nervous, but I was very calm,” Farlow said. “When it went up to 6-8, my heartbeat went up a little bit.”

William Poole, who coaches Randleman’s jumpers, said Farlow had the right demeanor during the long competition. There were gaps when Farlow made attempts as other entrants were summoned to compete in other events.

“He really just kept it together,” Poole said. “He was so anxious. Just had to calm down.”

Farlow had successful jumps at 6-8 three times this season.

He really wanted to eclipse 6-10 on Friday.

He said his rst two of the three attempts at that height gave him good chances.

Farlow began competing in track and eld as a freshman.

He said he tried various events before locking in on the jumps.

“I kind of experienced everything and that was what I was best at,” he said.

Farlow, a defensive back for Randleman’s football team and a wing on the boys’ basketball team, was the best in Class 2-A on Friday.

“Everything he has done worked up to (this),” Poole said.

Southwestern Randolph senior Caleb Shelton cleared 6 feet, placing 11th.

Farlow also quali ed for the long jump, but he didn’t advance to the nals. His top mark was at 20-1¾ for 11th place.

Randleman junior Jay Richards was sixth in the pole vault at 11 feet.

Wheatmore senior Zach Ha-

BEST

OVERALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Lucy Lockwood

Wheatmore, girls’ soccer

Lockwood, a goalkeeper, has recorded three consecutive shutouts in the Class 2-A state playo s. That makes her Wheatmore’s all-time leader in shutouts for girls’ soccer.

Her 25th career shutout tied the record last week against Mount Pleasant in the second round and she moved into the sole spot on the list with another blanking Monday night against Wilkes Central in the third round.

zelwood placed 10th in the 3,200 meters in 10 minutes, 13.86 seconds.

Junior Ty Moton of Randleman threw the discus 124-10, placing 11th.

In the 110 hurdles, Providence Grove junior Jackson Rhyne was 12th in 16.0 seconds.

Beane places in high jump

Gracie Beane of Randleman was the third-place nisher in the high jump, clearing 5-4.

That left her behind Burlington Cummings’ D’Anna Cotton, who set a Class 2-A state meet record at 5-8, and runner-up Jasmine Felton (5-6) of Northeastern.

Beane said it was another valuable experience.

“High jump is normally my main event,” she said. “I’m not mad about it.”

Beane su ered an elbow injury in the fall that kept her out of most of the basketball season. It also prevented her from participating in indoor track and eld.

She said she hopes to have a smoother senior year.

“You have to build up to the jumps,” she said.

Beane was the 2023 runner-up behind Cotton. Beane also cleared 5-4 last year.

Later Friday, Beane ended up seventh in the triple jump at 35-3¼. That was a one spot improvement from last year’s state meet.

The triple jump was interrupted by a late-afternoon storm when the competition was suspended and the stadium was evacuated.

Cotton won the triple jump at 39-½.

Trinity shot putter Kensley Fox, a senior, had a toss of 30-6 for 14th place.

Lockwood is in her second season with the soccer team. Victoria Lowe, who was the goalkeeper for the 2022 state championship team, had set the school record.

Lockwood, a senior, is planning to play volleyball at Davidson-Davie Community College in Lexington.

RACING

Duggins notches key Challengers victory

Randolph Record

SOPHIA — Brody Duggins edged Dalton Ledbetter to win the Challengers feature in the David Saunders Memorial competition May 11 at Caraway Speedway. Duggins moved to the front by passing Brian Rose on the 18th lap and held on for less than a 1-second advantage on Ledbetter. It was a double-points feature so Duggins expanded his lead in the track standings.

Rose ended up in third place, followed by Blake Slupe and Joseph Ciszek among 13 drivers. Rose and Ledbetter were tops in 10-lap qualifying heats.

• Jimmy Crigger won two events by capturing the Mod 4 race and the Enduros competition.

Crigger’s triumph in the Mod 4 event had him ahead of Rudy Hartley and third-place

Je Linkous. Then Crigger was the clear winner in 50 laps of Enduros.

• In 602 Modi eds, the victory went to Josh Lowder across 35 laps. Billy Gregg lost the lead on the 11th lap, nishing third behind runner-up Jaxson Casper.

• In UCARs, Jason Richmond nished in rst place ahead of Ron Mock, with the next three spots belonging to Josh Phillips, Daniel Hughes and Jeremy Moose. There were 21 cars in the race.

• Corey Rose pulled away from fast quali er Bentley Black to win in Bootleggers. Brad Martin was third.

The next regular racing night at the track comes June 1 with the Grand National Super Series holding two 50lap races. There also will be competition in regular divisions such as Challengers, 602 Mods, UCARs, Bootleggers and Mod 4s.

BOB SUTTON / RANDOLPH RECORD

BOB SUTTON / RANDOLPH RECORD

Randleman’s Chase Farlow became the Class 2-A state champion in the high jump.

Lucy Lockwood has been stellar in the nets for Wheatmore’s girls’ soccer team.

Wheatmore’s Garrison puts on show in potential nal home game

The state record-holder continues to produce

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

TRINITY — Ellie Garrison has scored more high school goals than any other player in North Carolina girls’ soccer history, so last week’s second-round game of the Class 2-A state playo s had tting elements.

It might have been Garrison’s nal game on Wheatmore’s eld, and she sure made the most of it. Garrison scored ve times as the Warriors breezed past Mount Pleasant 9-0 last Thursday night.

“It’s a very important game and it just means a lot to have played on this eld for four different years,” Garrison said. “With a new team every year, but the same coach. It’s just like a family. It’s just great to step on the eld every single time.”

The sixth-seeded Warriors (16-4) are bidding to make a third consecutive appearance in a state championship game. The quest for that continued Monday night with a 3-0 victory at third-seeded Wilkes Central (18-4) in the West Region. Garrison notched two goals and Brianna Hill had the other goal in the game at Rivers Edge Soccer Park in Wilkesboro.

That result sets up Thursday’s fourth-round visit to second-seeded Hendersonville (16-2-1), which defeated Black Mountain Owen 3-0.

Garrison said the number of teammates she has had at various levels of experience means that each season has brought something new.

“Being with all these new people,” she said. “People who have played for years. People who are just now starting. It’s a big variety. It’s just fun to be

State

able to teach players and then be helping other players and also learn (from) players and work o them.”

If it was her nal home game, it came with a variety pack of goals. It pushed her total of career goals to 271 (and now 273 with Monday’s goals) across four seasons.

“It makes the game more fun not having repetitive goals,” Garrison said. “It just brings a little bit of more excitement to the game for myself.”

She opened the scoring against 11th-seeded Mount Pleasant just 88 seconds into the game on a nifty move. Then came a shot from the perimeter for the second goal.

Garrison’s third goal of the night resulted from weaving through defenders. The last goal of the rst half came on a penalty kick, with the ball conveniently bouncing in o the left post.

“Very scary,” she said of seeing the ball smash against the post.

She had a breakaway tally for the last of her goals, outrunning opposing players while dribbling into the box for a delivery.

“There’s always a little voice in the back of my head, ‘Let’s go score some more. Let’s do it again,’ ” Garrison said.

That thought has played out in reality time and time again. It all seems natural for Garrison.

“I just come out every time on the eld and try to do my best and support my teammates through it all because I know they’re supporting me,” she said.

Natalie Bowman scored three goals and Kynnedi Routh had the other goal in the matchup with Mount Pleasant. Bowman had a nice mix of scoring conversions. Her rst goal came when she maneu-

vered around the referee to nd a shooting lane. Her second goal was o a rebound for the rst tally of the second half. She ended the game via the mercy rule by scoring with 18:52 remaining after breaking free from the defense.

Coach Rick Massey said Garrison, along with Bowman and older sister Summer Bowman, provided incredible recognition for Wheatmore.

“I was just a lucky coach who was at Wheatmore,” Massey said.

The only way the Warriors could play the regional nal next week at home is by winning at Hendersonville along with No. 12 seed Brevard defeating top-seeded Pine Lake Prep in the fourth round.

Other results …

Also in Class 2-A, No. 13 seed Providence Grove was eliminated in a penalty-kick shootout by fourth-seeded West Davidson in the second round. West Davidson prevailed 4-3 in the shootout after the teams were tied 1-1 through overtimes.

Patience Keller scored in the second half for Providence Grove (14-5-2).

• In Class 3-A, fth-seeded Hickory ousted 12th-seeded Asheboro 7-0 in the second round. The Blue Comets nished with a 16-5-1 record.

• In Class 1-A, third-seeded Uwharrie Charter Academy received goals from Jazmin Palma, Reese Craven and Lily Charlesworth to top No. 14 seed Cornerstone Charter 3-1 in the second round. Palma also had an assist.

Then UCA (16-5) won again Monday, defeating No. 22 seed Bradford Prep to set up a matchup later this week at second-seeded Polk County (14-43).

Wayne Country Day School wins baseball title in Asheboro

Randolph Record

ASHEBORO — Wayne Country Day School’s baseball team won the North Carolina Independent Schools Athletic Association’s Class 2-A state championship in a best-of-three nals held at McCrary Park.

The Chargers swept Rocky Mount Academy, winning 8-0 on Friday and 10-0 on Saturday.

Wayne Country Day School (28-4) was the top seed for the tournament. Rocky Mount Academy nished with a 15-6 record.

Sterling Bass threw a three-hitter in Game 1, when he also went 3-for-3 with a home run.

Game 2 was reduced to ve innings by the mercy rule.

Gabe Adams pitched the rst four innings and Ayden West

Runs allowed by Wayne Country Day in its championship games

threw in the fth as part of a combined two-hitter. Davis Albert homered.

Boys’ lacrosse

Lake Norman Charter won its third consecutive state championship in Class 1-A/2A/3-A by topping Orange 16-7 in the championship game Saturday at Durham County Stadium.

Formula works for Faith Christian soccer program

Eagles nally break through for elusive crown

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

RAMSEUR — Faith Chris-

tian won a state championship in girls’ soccer for the rst time in school history earlier this month.

It didn’t occur by accident.

“We knew we had the people if everybody did what they were supposed to do and everybody stayed healthy,” Eagles coach Brian Gaines said.

Faith Christian topped host Wilson Christian 4-1 in the championship game of the North Carolina Christian School Association’s Class 2-A state tournament.

It marked the fth time the Eagles had played in a title game. They avenged a 2023 loss in the nal to Wilson Christian.

“We got it this time,” Gaines said.

For seven of the players on the roster, Gaines had been coaching them since recreation leagues. So those hours on YMCA elds in Asheboro blossomed into a state championship.

“It has been pretty emotional,” Gaines said. “Our goal was to put a championship banner on the wall. It was 10 years in the making.”

For the core of the team, it marked the third time in the championship game. Faith Christian also reached the last

game of the season in 2021.

There were six senior starters for Faith Christian this year. Those included the second-year coach’s daughters – twins Karrie Gaines and Kylie Gaines. Madison Avelino, Christina Davis, Alexis Lynch and Caroline Scarlett were the other senior starters.

Sophomore Ruth McLanahan scored three goals in the nal and Kyle Gaines had the other goal.

Kyle Gaines wasn’t available last spring because of an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Her presence lled a void this time around.

“When you meet the better teams, you have to have that repower,” said Coach Gaines, who has another daughter, junior Kassie Gaines, on the team as well.

Coach Gaines, who was a Faith Christian assistant coach for several seasons, said the addition of seventh grader Kensley York to the lineup made a significant di erence on the defensive end this year.

The Eagles edged Southside Christian 4-2 in the semi nal on the day prior to the title game after earlier pouncing on Greenville Christian Academy 9-0. So they outscored opponents by a combined 17-3 tally in three games in the state playo s. A team motto was displayed on the players’ warm-up shirts: “The Power of 1 – One Team, One Focus, One Destiny.” Now the Eagles have one state championship.

Lake Norman Charter end-

ed with a 15-8 record. Orange nished 24-2. In Class 4-A, Green Level edged Lake Norman 11-10 on Friday night.

Girls’ lacrosse

Union Pines was a 20-6 winner against Bishop McGuinness in Saturday’s title game of the Class 1-A/2-A/3-A state playo s at Durham County Stadium. It was the rst state title for the Vikings (18-0), who were in the nal for the rst time. Bishop McGuinness fell to 19-3. In Class 4-A, Cardinal Gibbons posted its third straight title, drubbing Charlotte Catholic 19-7 in the championship game. The Crusaders (204) nished the season on a 16-game winning streak.

BOB SUTTON / RANDOLPH RECORD

recordholder Ellie Garrison of Wheatmore was happy with another victory in the state playo s last week.

COURTESY PHOTO

Members of the Faith Christian girls’ soccer team pose after winning the program’s rst state championship.

COURTESY PHOTO

Faith Christian’s Caroline Scarlett, left, Karrie Gaines, center, and Kyle Gaines celebrate during the state semi nals.

UCA survives in 8 innings, advances to West Region nals

ASHEBORO — Defending

Class 1-A state champion Uwharrie Charter Academy was on the verge of elimination before scoring in three straight innings Friday night to survive.

The Eagles pulled out a 4-3, eight-inning victory against visiting Christ the King in the fourth round of the state playo s. That puts second-seeded UCA (24-5) in this week’s bestof-3 West Region nals against top-seeded Mount Airy, which edged visiting Cherryville 4-2 on Friday night.

Jose Ramirez drove in the winning run in the eighth inning.

The Eagles trailed 3-1 be-

The Eagles are aiming to return to the state championship series after withstanding a scare in a fourth-round game.

fore plating a run in the sixth and then bene tting from a seventh-inning error on third-seeded Christ the King to tie the game.

Brett Smith and Logun Wilkins handled the UCA pitching.

Earlier in the week, UCA defeated No. 23 seed Mountain Heritage 15-5 in Monday night’s

Post 81 returns to action

After a one-year hiatus, the team hits eld again

By Bob Sutton Randolph Record

RAMSEUR — Baseball is back on the top American Legion level for Post 81.

The Liberty Post 81 team began the season last week after a one-year hiatus.

“With the community involvement, we were able to make it happen,” said Nate Cockman, the head coach. “We took that summer o to get those young guys ready.”

With 18 players on board and potentially a couple of more, it’s a foundation that Cockman said

he likes even with about half the players coming o their freshman years of high school.

“It’s good for the future,” he said. “It’s going to be a fun, talented group.”

The roster make-up is mostly high school players from Eastern Randolph, Providence Grove and Faith Christian. Cockman said about one-third of the players on the roster play on the same travel team, extending from Asheboro to Pittsboro.

That should help, he said, as they’ll be on the same schedule.

Post 81 didn’t play on the senior American Legion level in 2023 after lower player availability from the previous season and limited interest created concerns about elding a team

third-round

Class 2-A

Last Wednesday night at Eden, sixth-seeded Randleman fell 1-0 to third-seeded Eden Morehead in a third-round game of the state playo s.

It’s the second year in a row that the Tigers were ousted by Eden Morehead, though last year’s game was in the fourth round at Randleman.

The Tigers (21-6) managed only two hits in the rematch. Anderson Nance struck out 13 Randleman batters in a game postponed one night by rain.

Seth Way was the losing pitcher despite throwing a four-hitter with two walks and 11 strikeouts.

for an entire season. But the Legion post sponsored a combined Pony/Colt League team for ages 13-16 in order to groom a team to return to American Legion play this year.

There’s also a tweak to the name, using Liberty. Prior to last year, the American Legion baseball entry had been Eastern Randolph Post 81.

“There was discussion about using Liberty in the name,” Cockman said. “(There’s) the support that the Liberty hut has given us.”

Post 81 has a 22-game regular-season schedule. The team has moved home games back to Eastern Randolph High School’s Grady Lawson Field, where it had played for years. In 2022, the team used Craven Stadium in Ramseur.

Cockman, a former Post 81 player, had been a coach at Southeastern Randolph Mid-

Shutouts send Cougars to regional nals in softball

Randolph Record

MILLERS CREEK — Southwestern Randolph’s softball team turned in shutouts on consecutive nights in the Class 2-A state playo s and that has put the Cougars in the West Region nals.

Pitcher Macie Crutch eld logged a pair of shutouts. Fourth-seeded Southwestern Randolph scored a seventh-inning run in Friday night’s 1-0 victory at top-seeded West Wilkes.

Southwestern Randolph (19-6) plays in the best-of-3 regional nals for the rst time in 14 years against second-seeded North Stanly (20-3-1) this week. North Stanly topped the Cougars 3-0 in a non-conference game March 13.

Against West Wilkes, Madelyn Smith became the only Southwestern Randolph base runner with a lead-o triple in the seventh inning. Alyssa Harris drove her in with a sacrice y.

West Wilkes (21-1) recorded 15 shutouts this season.

The Cougars defeated visiting Black Mountain Owen 3-0 last Thursday night with Crutch eld posting 11 strikeouts during the three-hitter.

Smith, Harris and Crutch eld drove in runs.

The Warhorses (20-3) su ered their only shutout of the season.

The rapid- re schedule for the Cougars came about with the third-round game postponed on back-to-back days.

Class 1-A

At Asheboro, top-seeded Uwharrie Charter Academy fell 4-3 to fourth-seeded Robbinsville in the fourth-round game in the West Region UCA (20-4-1) trailed 4-0 going to the bottom of the seventh inning, but Jayla Hurley drove in two runs to give the Eagles a chance.

Mollie Bulla su ered her rst pitching loss of the season, surrendering two home runs. She walked eight and struck out 10. Robbinsville (24-2) meets second-seeded East Wilkes (25-3) in the best-of-3 regional nal.

Southwestern Randolph has reached the regional nals for the rst time in 14 years, reaching that point by knocking o a previously undefeated team.

dle School, but last summer took the coaching position at Eastern Randolph.

“When I grew up, all the Legion ran through Eastern Randolph,” he said, noting the additional convenience of being the coach at the high school in terms of eld maintenance.

In games on the eld, Post 81 was 18-9 in 2022, though a couple of those victories turned to losses by forfeits because of a player eligibility issue.

In the rst game of the season, Liberty won 12-2 at Wilkes County Post 31, which is elding a team for the rst time in a decade, in a game shortened to ve innings by the mercy rule. Bauer Bowling, Jacob Flinchum and Carson Williams had hits that produced multiple runs.

There were just 11 players available for Post 81 in the opener, then seven more in uniform the next night when Liberty lost 8-5 to Davidson County Post 8 in Lexington.

From Providence Grove, third baseman Jayten Beasley and catcher Logan Fox – both seniors – give Post 81 experience, and Patriots sophomore inelder/pitcher Andrew Thomas should have a key role. Thomas is the younger brother of former Post 81 standout Luke Thomas, now a UNC Greensboro pitcher. From Cockman’s Eastern Randolph team, several starters will suit up for Liberty. Those include shortstop/pitcher Cade McCallum, in elder Chance Holdaway, catcher Avery Wright, out elder Bryson Marley and rst baseman Will Stalker. Former Eastern Randolph player Ethan Frye, a 2023 graduate, is on the team as well. Cockman said Post 81 has a full roster for Junior American Legion, so that pipeline should be well stocked.

Randolph Record

game. Jake Hunter picked up the pitching victory.

PJ WARD-BROWN / RANDOLPH RECORD

Randleman coach Jake Smith, center, talks with pitcher Seth Way as catcher Issac Yates, left, looks on during the team’s nal game in a loss at Eden Morehead in the Class 2-A state playo s last week.

County Post 8 Grove, third Beasley and both seexperience, sophomore inThomas Thomas of former Thomas, Greensboro pitcher. Eastern several startLiberty. shortstop/pitchin elder catcher AvBryson baseman Will Eastern RanFrye, a 2023 team as well. 81 has a American pipeline should

Jerry Je ers

April 5, 1936 – May 17, 2024

Jerry Je ers, 88, of Asheboro passed away peacefully on May 17, 2024, at the Randolph Hospice House following a brief illness. Jerry was born on April 5, 1936, to Nate and Claire Huey Je ers. He served our country in the United States Air Force for more than 20 years, retiring as Master Sergeant in 1976. Jerry’s lifelong passion was aviation. His career in aviation began during his time in the military and spanned some 60 years in total. His primary occupation was Avionics Technician, having owned his own shop at one time. He piloted the annual Fly Over for the Field of Honor and served on the Board of Directors at the North Carolina Aviation Museum & Hall of Fame in Asheboro. Jerry is survived by his daughter, Lynn Luke (Christopher) of Apex, his granddaughter, Kaleigh Bedding eld, and his love of 25 years, Becky Cooper of Asheboro. Jerry was preceded in death by his parents.

Cathy Joanne Seabolt Hinshaw

June 16, 1956 – May 14, 2024

Cathy Joanne Seabolt Hinshaw, age 67, of Asheboro passed away on May 14, 2024, at Randolph Hospital. Ms. Hinshaw was born in Randolph County on June 16, 1956 to Curtis Reid and Peggy Stine Seabolt. Cathy was formerly employed with Stuart Furniture and Klaussner Furniture and most recently worked as a CNA. Cathy was preceded in death by her son, Curtis Shane Hinshaw. Cathy was very artistic and enjoyed drawing and painting. She loved God, her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchild. She enjoyed going for drives in the countryside. She is survived by her parents, Curtis Reid and Peggy Seabolt; daughter, Stephanie; grandchildren, Curtis Hinshaw (Aaliyah) and Brenden Hinshaw; great grandchild, Ayla Hinshaw; and sister, Donna Smith (Rodney).

James "Jim" Palmer Fetner Sr.

February 1, 1943 –May 17, 2024

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Jim Fetner on May 17, 2024, at the age of 81. He passed away peacefully, surrounded by his loved ones. Jim was born on February 1, 1943, in Burlington, NC, to Jack Fetner and Elizabeth “Tib” Austin Fetner. He grew up in Asheboro, NC, and graduated from Asheboro High School and Appalachian State University, where he studied Business and Marketing.

Jim grew up playing golf and tennis with his friends and hunted bob-white quail at every opportunity. One of his proudest accomplishments in high school was competing as a running back on Lee J. Stone’s legendary football teams.

Jim proudly volunteered and served in the US Marine Corps, completing two tours of duty in Vietnam. He was an expert in Artillery Fire Control and earned numerous commendations for his service.

Jim was a combat veteran and participated in numerous re ghts and engagements.

Jim’s gift for reading maps and excellent decision making under pressure made him a popular selection for missions and operations. An entrepreneur and expert in Business, Accounting, and Computer Systems, Jim founded Fetner Associates, Inc. in 1979. He built the company to serve manufacturing and distribution customers across North Carolina and as far away as California, Ontario, Canada, and Miami, FL. Jim also taught computer programming at Randolph Community College, helping many of his students launch successful careers in technology. Jim generously volunteered his time as an adviser to entrepreneurs and small business owners with SCORE of the NC Piedmont Triad, sharing his wealth of knowledge and experience. He was a founding member of the Randolph Rotary Club and Randolph County Crime Stoppers. Beyond his professional achievements, Jim was a devoted father who instilled in his sons a strong work ethic, integrity, and relationship-building skills.

The highlight of Jim’s life is the family he helped create with the late Iris Ann Dodson Stone. He is survived by his sons, James Palmer Fetner, Jr., and Mark Dodson Fetner, and their wives, Maggie Wright Fetner and Justina Anne-Proctor Fetner. Jim was incredibly proud of his grandchildren, William Fetner, Bradley Fetner, Gabriel Fetner and Iris Ann Fetner. He was recently preceded in death by his brother Lawrence Jackson Fetner II, and he leaves behind his sister Merrill Fetner Smith. He loved his siblings dearly. He also leaves behind niece Catherine Fetner, and nephews Lawrence Jackson Fetner III and Christopher Fetner, who will cherish his memory. Jim had a passion for golf, snow and water skiing, shag dancing at Ocean Drive, and attending his grandchildren’s school and sporting events. He was known for his dedication to helping his customers succeed, his winning, positive attitude that lit up a room, and his legendary storytelling. Jim could turn any situation into a humorous anecdote, leaving everyone around him in stitches.

Velna Elizabeth Sumner Sanders

November 25, 1935 –May 13, 2024

Velna Elizabeth Sumner Sanders, 88, was born in Asheboro, N.C. on November 25, 1935, to George H. Sumner, MD and Velna Welborn Sumner. She adored them and revered her father as a kind soul, loving father, and wonderful doctor. Elizabeth grew up playing paper dolls and admiring her brother who would become a vascular surgeon, David Spurgeon Sumner, MD. She married her high school sweetheart, William Eugene Sanders (Bill), and they were married for 59 years prior to his death in 2017. Elizabeth was a lifelong student and teacher. She graduated from her beloved University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in Nursing and later attained a Masters in Library Science from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Early in her career, she brie y worked as a pediatric nurse in Randolph County Hospital and later spent 20 years as an elementary school librarian in the Greensboro City Schools. From childhood when she watched Charlie Choo Choo Justice play football in Chapel Hill until her nal years, she adored attending UNC football games and watching UNC basketball games. Her favorite vacation, a yearly event, was “the beach trip” which encompassed the Sanders and Sumner extended family including her brother and his wife, Martha Sumner and their children Vance Sumner, Mary Butler (husband Eric), and John Sumner. A faithful servant of God, Elizabeth sang in the choir and taught an adult Sunday school class for over 30 years at St. Paul Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. When Elizabeth and Bill returned to Asheboro in 2000, they resumed their attendance at First United Methodist Church, the church in which Elizabeth had grown up and where she and Bill were married in 1957. Elizabeth was an active member of the Col. Andrew Balfour chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was a loving mother to William E. Sanders, Jr. (Gene) MD, JD and George H. S. Sanders, MD who always relied on her support and wisdom. Her love and tenderness were extended to all but enveloped the remaining family including Margaret Herbst Sanders (wife of Gene), Julie Vernon Sanders (wife of George), grandchildren Christine Sanders Walker, DPT and husband David Walker, William (Bill) Sanders III, DPT and wife Amanda Sanders, MD, David Sanders and wife Laura Sanders, JD, John Sanders and wife Shannon Sanders, and great grandchildren Virginia Walker, Jackson Walker, Marissa Sanders, Weston Sanders, and Matthew Sanders. Unfortunately, due to Alzheimer’s disease her memory had slowly faded during the last several years. The family wants to express their sincere gratitude to Elizabeth’s wonderful full-time caregivers during the last two years, Sandy Johnson, Betty Starrett, Susan Blackwood, and Tanya Burrow.

Guy Douglas Bralley, Jr.

June 25, 1963 – May 16, 2024

Guy Douglas Bralley, Jr., born on June 25, 1963, in Danville, VA, passed away surrounded by his loving family at his residence on May 16, 2024, at the age of 60. Guy dedicated his professional life to his work, spending 90% of his working life as a certi ed mechanic and most recently as a maintenance technician at Technimark. Renowned for his exceptional skills and ability to x anything, his craftsmanship was unparalleled. Beyond his vocation, Guy possessed an adventurous spirit. He had a passion for target shooting, enjoyed racing Pure Stock, U-Cars and Front Wheel Drive cars, riding his motorcycle, and cherished taking cruises with his beloved family. His farm and homestead were canvases for his numerous projects, each one a labor of love and a testament to his hard-working nature. Most of all he loved that his sons & wife worked alongside him on cars and other projects. Guy was a pillar of strength and reliability for his family, taking immense pride in the joy brought by his grandchildren. His devotion as a husband and his willingness to assist others were hallmarks of his character. He is preceded in death by his mother, Mary Ruth Steelman. He is survived by his devoted wife, Jana Schwarzer Bralley, of the home; his children, Phillip Bralley (Courtney) and Zackery Bralley (Taylor); his father, Guy Douglas Bralley, Sr.; his cherished grandchildren, Christian, Madalyn, Caileigh, Blakely, and MaKenna; his brothers, Lin Matthews (Becky), Lonnie “Ronnie” Mikles (Robin), and Julian Bralley (Linda); his sisters, Lisa Smith and Kristal Knapp (Terry); and numerous other beloved family and friends.

Jean Mabe

June 14, 1943 – May 13, 2024

Lois Jean Wall Mabe, age 80, of Sophia, passed away Monday, May 13, 2024.Ms. Mabe was born on June 14, 1943, in Guilford County to General and Mary Wall. She was retired from the textile industry and was a member of Poplar Ridge Friends Meeting. She enjoyed shopping at K-Mart, collecting red birds, owers and watching her soaps. She was a great people person who enjoyed talking to everyone and loved spending time with her dog JoJo. In addition to her parents, Jean was preceded in death by her daughter, Mary-Lynette Simpson, and granddaughter, Brandi Simpson. Ms. Mabe is survived by her daughters, Pam Gunter, Deborah Long; sons, Ralph Kelly Staley, Richie Nixon; 9 grandchildren; 18 great grandchildren; 3 great great grandchildren; sisters, Ruth Stanley, Brenda Fain, Linda Gordon.

pen STATE & NATION

Last student who helped integrate the UNC’s undergraduate body dies

Ralph Kennedy Frasier died May 8 at age 85

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the nal surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill in the 1950s, has died.

Frasier, who had been in declining health over the past several months, died May 8 at age 85 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, according to son Ralph Frasier Jr. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, where Frasier spent much of his working career.

Frasier, his older brother LeRoy, and John Lewis Brandon — all Durham high school classmates — fought successfully against Jim Crow laws when they were able to attend UNC in the fall of 1955. LeRoy Frasier died in late 2017, with Brandon following weeks later.

Initially, the Hillside High

School students’ enrollment applications were denied even though the UNC law school had been integrated a few years earlier. The landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation happened in 1954. The trustee board of UNC — the nation’s oldest public university — then passed a resolution

barring the admission of blacks as undergraduates. The students sued and a federal court ordered they be admitted. The ruling ultimately was a rmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The trio became plainti s, in part, because their families were insulated from nancial retribution — the brothers’ parents

worked for black-owned North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, for example. The brothers were 14 months apart in age, but Ralph started his education early.

After the legal victory, it still was not easy being on campus.

In an interview at the time of his brother’s death, Frasier recalled that the school’s golf course and the university-owned Carolina Inn were o -limits. At football games, they were seated in a section with custodial workers, who were black. The three lived on their own oor of a section of a dormitory.

“Those days were probably the most stressful of my life,” Frasier told The Associated Press in 2010 when the three visited Chapel Hill to be honored. “I can’t say that I have many happy memories.”

The brothers studied three years at Chapel Hill before Ralph left for the Army and LeRoy for the Peace Corps. Attending UNC “was extremely tough on them. They were tired,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said this week in an interview.

The brothers later graduated from North Carolina Central

Court: Drone pilot can’t o er mapping without NC surveyor’s license

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate a drone photography pilot’s constitutional rights when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a trial court’s decision, found the free-speech protections of Michael Jones and his 360 Virtual Drone Services business weren’t violated by the state’s requirement for a license to o er surveying services.

The litigation marked an emerging con ict between technology disrupting the handson regulated profession of surveying. A state license requires educational and technical experience, which can include examinations and apprenticeships.

Jones sought to expand his drone pilot career by taking composite images that could assist construction companies and others with bird’s-eye views of their interested tracts of land. The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors began investigating his activities in late 2018.

A federal appeals court agreed that a North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate the constitutional rights of drone photographer Michael Jones, pictured in 2021 in Goldsboro, when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license.

The board wrote to Jones in June 2019 and ordered him to stop engaging in “mapping, surveying and photogrammetry; stating accuracy; providing location and dimension data; and producing orthomosaic maps, quantities and topographic information.” Performing surveying work without a license can subject someone to civil and criminal liability. By then, Jones had placed a

disclaimer on his website saying the maps weren’t meant to replace proper surveys needed for mortgages, title insurance and land-use applications.

He stopped trying to develop his mapping business but remained interested in returning to the eld in the future, according to Monday’s opinion. So he sued board members in 2021 on First Amendment grounds.

U.S. District Judge Louise

Flanagan sided with the board members last year, determining that the rules withstood scrutiny because they created a generally applicable licensing system that regulated primarily conduct rather than speech.

Circuit Judge Jim Wynn, writing Monday’s unanimous opinion by the three-member panel, said determining whether such a business prohibition crosses over to a signi cant

University in Durham, a historically black college. LeRoy Frasier worked as an English teacher for many years in New York. Brandon got his degrees elsewhere and worked in the chemical industry.

Frasier also obtained a law degree at N.C. Central, after which began a long career in legal services and banking, rst with Wachovia and later Huntington Bancshares in Columbus.

Ralph Frasier was proud of promoting racial change in the Columbus business community and by serving on a committee that helped put two black jurists on the federal bench, his son said.

Relationships with UNC improved, leading to the 2010 campus celebration of their pioneering e orts, and scholarships were named in their honor.

Still, Ralph Frasier Jr. said it was disappointing to see the current UNC Chapel Hill trustee board vote this week to recommend diverting money from diversity programs for next year.

“It’s almost a smack in the face and a step backwards in time,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said. The action comes as the UNC system’s Board of Governors will soon decide whether to rework its diversity policy for the 17 campuses statewide.

Frasier’s survivors include his wife of 42 years, Jeannine Marie Quick-Frasier; six children, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

speech restriction can be dicult.

“Even where a regulation is in fact aimed at professional conduct, States must still be able to articulate how the regulation is su ciently drawn to promote a substantial state interest,” Wynn said.

In this case, he wrote, it’s important that people can rely on surveyors to provide accurate maps. And there’s no evidence that the maps that Jones wants to create would constitute “unpopular or dissenting speech,” according to Wynn.

“There is a public interest in ensuring there is an incentive for individuals to go through that rigorous process and become trained as surveyors,” he wrote, adding the licensing law “protects consumers from potentially harmful economic and legal consequences that could ow from mistaken land measurements.”

Sam Gedge, an attorney at the Institute for Justice rm representing Jones, said Monday that he and his client want to further appeal the case, whether through the full 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, or at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling says “the state can criminalize sharing certain types of photos without a government-issued license. And it does so on the theory that such a law somehow does not regulate ‘speech,’” Gedge wrote in an email. “That reasoning is badly awed. Taking photos and providing information to willing clients is speech, and it’s fully protected by the First Amendment.”

Joining Wynn — a former North Carolina appeals court judge — in Monday’s opinion were Circuit Judges Steven Agee and Stephanie Thacker.

RUDOLPH FAIRCLOTH / AP PHOTO

Ralph Frasier, right, the nal surviving member of a trio of black students who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill, died May 8 at age 85 in Florida.

GERRY BROOME / AP PHOTO

pen & paper pursuits

this week in history

Halley’s Comet passed Earth, Bonnie and Clyde shot to death

The Saturday Evening Post published its rst Norman Rockwell cover

The Associated Press

MAY 17

1536: Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer declared England’s King Henry VIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn invalid after she failed to produce a male heir; Boleyn, already condemned for high treason, was executed two days later.

1940: The Nazis occupied Brussels, Belgium, during World War II.

1973: A special committee convened by the U.S. Senate began its televised hearings into the Watergate scandal.

2012: Donna Summer, the “Queen of Disco,” died at age 63.

MAY 18

1896: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Plessy v. Ferguson, endorsed “separate but equal” racial segregation, a concept renounced 58 years later by Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka.

1980: Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded, leaving 57 people dead or missing.

1910: Halley’s Comet passed by Earth, brushing it with its tail.

1934: Congress approved and President Franklin D.

Roosevelt signed the so-called “Lindbergh Act,” providing for the death penalty in cases of interstate kidnapping.

MAY 19

1536: Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England’s King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery.

1962: Marilyn Monroe sang “Happy Birthday to You” to President John F. Kennedy during a Democratic fundraiser at Madison Square Garden.

1994: Former rst lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64.

MAY 20

1927: Charles Lindbergh took o from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, aboard the Spirit of St. Louis.

1916: The Saturday Evening Post published its rst Norman Rockwell cover.

1932: Amelia Earhart took o from Newfoundland to become the rst woman to y solo across the Atlantic.

1956: The United States exploded the rst airborne hydrogen bomb over Bikini Atoll in the Paci c.

MAY 21

1471: King Henry VI of England died in the Tower of London at age 49.

1542: Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto died while searching for gold along the Mississippi River.

1927: Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis monoplane near Paris, completing the rst solo airplane ight across the Atlantic Ocean in 33½ hours

1955: Chuck Berry recorded his rst single, “Maybellene,” for Chess Records in Chicago.

MAY 22

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his “Great Society.”

1939: Germany and Italy signed the “Pact of Steel,” committing the two countries to a military alliance.

1960: An earthquake of magnitude 9.5 struck southern Chile, claiming some 1,655 lives.

1962: Continental Airlines Flight 11, en route from Chicago to Kansas City, Missouri, crashed after a bomb apparently brought on board by a passenger exploded, killing all 45 occupants of the Boeing 707.

1992: After a reign lasting nearly 30 years, Johnny Carson hosted NBC’s “The Tonight Show” for the nal time.

MAY 23

1934: Bank robbers Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were shot to death in a police ambush in Bienville Parish, Louisiana.

1430: The Burgundians captured Joan of Arc, who sold her to the English.

W. LILLER / NASA / NSSDC

Halley’s Comet, pictured in March 1986, passed Earth on May 18, 1910.

Anonymous public servants at heart of George Stephanopoulos’ new book ‘Situation Room’

The ABC News anchor charts the history of the White House room where some of the biggest intelligence crises have been handled

By Andrew DeMillo

The Associated Press

THE ROOM itself is the biggest challenge for an author tackling the history of the Situation Room, the basement room of the White House where some of the biggest intelligence crises have been handled in recent decades. As a setting, it’s underwhelming.

In “The Situation Room: The Inside Story of Presidents in Crisis,” George Stephanopoulos describes how the room — a series of rooms — for much of its history didn’t live up to its reputation in popular imagination or media. The centerpiece of it, as Stephanopoulos

writes, had “all the charm of a cardboard box.”

But what keeps readers engaged in Stephanopoulos’ history isn’t any behindthe-scenes schematics or technology. It’s not a Tom Clancy novel, though it moves along as briskly as one. Instead, it’s the stories Stephanopoulos and Lisa Dickey share of the normally nameless, faceless public servants, the duty o cers who have sta ed the center since its inception during Kennedy’s presidency.

Stephanopoulos, a political commentator and ABC anchor who worked in the Clinton White House, wisely zeroes in on a single crisis during each of the Situation Room’s 12 presidencies. Along the way, he reveals much about the di ering management styles of the nation’s presidents and o ers plenty of interesting pieces of history.

This includes the granular level of detail Lyndon B. Johnson sought in regular calls

to the Situation Room late at night or early in the morning. The book o ers a glimpse at the frenzied conversations that took place following Ronald Reagan’s shooting in 1981. It should come as no surprise that the most riveting chapter centers around the moment that led to the most widely seen photo of the “Sit Room” — the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Stephanopoulos reveals that the photo — which showed former President Barack Obama in a cramped conference room receiving updates on the raid on the terrorist leader’s compound — could have looked a lot di erent. A larger room was available, but o cials were worried about losing the audiovisual link if they tried moving it from the cramped room.

The duty o cers whose stories are at the book’s heart are portrayed as apolitical gures, with one saying they “serve in silence.” Stephanopoulos’ book is a tting tribute to them.

Paul McCartney becomes Britain’s rst billionaire musician

The 82-year-old Beatle ranks 165th on the list of the wealthiest people in the U.K.

The Associated Press FOR 60 YEARS, royalties from The Beatles’ catalog had made Paul McCartney one of Britain’s wealthiest musicians.

According to gures released Friday, the former Mop Top, now 82, is the rst British musical artist worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion). The annual Sunday Times Rich List has revealed that McCartney and his wife, Nancy Shevell, have grown their wealth by 50 million pounds since last year. The list cites McCartney’s successful 2023 Got Back tour, the lucrative Beatles catalog and Beyonce’s cover of “Blackbird” on her “Cowboy Carter” album as major contributors. The Sunday Times estimated that 50 million pounds of the couple’s wealth is due to Shevell, daughter of the late U.S. trucking tycoon Mike Shevell. McCartney ranked 165th on the newspaper’s respected and widely perused list of the U.K.’s 350 wealthiest people. Gopi Hinduja and his family, who

own the banking, media and entertainment conglomerate Hinduja Group, came in rst place with an estimated net worth of 37 billion pounds.

The Sunday Times Rich List also features other notable entertainment gures, providing a comprehensive view of the U.K.’s wealthiest individuals. These include “Harry Potter” author J.K. Rowling, whose fortune is estimated at 945 million pounds, and singer Elton John, estimated to be worth 470 mil-

lion pounds. Their inclusion on the list underscores the signi

cant wealth generated by the entertainment industry.

King Charles III ranked 258th with an estimated wealth of 610 million pounds. The king’s fortune includes the large inherited private estates of Sandringham in England and Balmoral in Scotland. The total does not include items that the monarch holds in trust for the nation, such as the Crown Jewels.

-

JOEL C RYAN / INVISION VIA AP

Paul McCartney, pictured in 2022, became the rst British musician to be worth 1 billion pounds ($1.27 billion), according to gures released Friday.

The Associated Press

May 19

Musician Pete Townshend of The Who is 79. Drummer Phil Rudd of AC/DC is 70. Singer Shooter Jennings is 45. Comedian Michael Che (“Saturday Night Live”) is 41.

May 20

Singer-actor Cher is 78. Actor Dean Butler (“Little House on the Prairie”) is 68. Actor Bronson Pinchot (“Perfect Strangers,” “True Romance”) is 65. Actor Tony Goldwyn (“Scandal,” “Ghost”) is 64. Rapper Busta Rhymes is 52.

May 21

Singer Ron Isley of the Isley Brothers is 83. Comedian and former U.S. Sen. Al Franken is 73. Actor Judge Reinhold (“Beverly Hills Cop,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”) is 67. Actor-director Nick Cassavetes (“The Notebook”) is 65. Actor Mr. T

(“The A-Team”) is 72.

May 22

Actor Barbara Parkins (“Peyton Place,” ″Valley of the Dolls”) is 82. Songwriter Bernie Taupin is 74. Singer Morrissey of The Smiths is 65. Actor Brooke Smith (“Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Silence of the Lambs”) is 57.

May 23

Actor Joan Collins (“Dynasty”) is 92. Actor Lauren Chapin (“Father Knows Best”) is 79. Comedian Drew Carey is 66. Drummer Phil Selway of Radiohead is 57. Singer Jewel is 50.

May 24

Jazz saxophonist Archie Shepp is 87. Comedian Tommy Chong of Cheech and Chong is 86. Musician Bob Dylan is 83. Singer Rosanne Cash is 69. Actor John C. Reilly (“Chicago,” Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia”) is 59.

AMY SUSSMAN / INVISION VIA AP

MARY ALTAFFER / AP PHOTO

Left, famed musician Bob Dylan turns 83 on Friday. Right, Muppeteer Frank Oz will be 80 on Saturday. Bottom, bouncer-turned-actor Mr. T turned 72 on Tuesday.

JEFF ROBBINS / AP PHOTO

the stream

Kravitz releases rst full-length album in six years

“The Blue Angels,” premiering on Amazon, spotlights the daring U.S. Navy pilots who have thrilled air show audiences since 1946

The Associated Press

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for something new for your devices, there’s plenty of music, TV, movies and video games coming to your screens this week. Lenny Kravitz will drop his rst record in six years, “South Park,” mocks weight loss drugs and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” has hit the streaming service Max. Music documentary fans also have a lot to look forward to with Peter Jackon’s “The Beach Boys” on Disney + and “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” about Stax Records on Max.

MOVIES TO STREAM

The spice is owing on Max after Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” hit the streaming service on Tuesday. The lm continues the saga of Paul Atreides as he learns the ways of the desert-dwelling Fremen following his father’s death in “Part One.” It’s also a decidedly more action-packed spectacle than the rst lm, introducing a slew of new characters, including the demonic Feyd Rautha, played by Austin Butler. In his review, AP lm writer Jake Coyle wrote that “Like its predecessor, ‘Dune: Part Two’ thrums with an intoxicating big-screen expressionism of monoliths and mosquitos, fevered visions and messianic fervor — more dystopian dream, or nightmare, than a straightforward narrative.” A di erent kind of eye-popping spectacle will also be available Thursday on Prime Video in “The Blue Angels,” a documentary about the daring U.S. Navy pilots who have thrilled air show audiences since 1946. Produced by J.J. Abrams and “Top Gun: Maverick” star Glen Powell, lmmaker Paul Crowder got unprecedented access to the pilots on the ground and in the air to give audiences a front-row seat. Stunts were lmed using a helicopter and mounted IMAX-certi ed camera — it was the rst civilian aircraft allowed to y in their per -

formance airspace — unlike in “Top Gun: Maverick,” there was no staging or second takes. The ever-proli c Jennifer Lopez already has another movie on the way in the sciaction pic “Atlas,” debuting Friday on Net ix. She plays the titular character, a data analyst who must learn to trust AI to save humanity. Lopez has said that, at its core, it’s a love story. “Atlas” was directed by “San Andreas” helmer Brad Peyton.

MUSIC TO STREAM

Lenny Kravitz is back with his rst full-length album in six years: “Blue Electric Light.” (The album follows 2018’s “Raise Vibration.”) It is a testament to his status as one of the last remaining true rock stars, evident from the moment he released the album’s lead single, “TK421.” Last year, Kravitz described the album as “the album I didn’t make in my teens” to The Associated Press. You’ve seen nearly all eight hours of Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary “Get Back” on Disney+. Now, prepare for a denitive documentary on Amer -

ica’s band, the Beach Boys, on the same platform starting Friday. (Let the spirited rivalry continue!) Appropriately titled “The Beach Boys,” this doc boasts never-before-seen footage and all-new interviews with members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston.

At the epicenter of Memphis’ music scene in the ’50s and ’60s was Stax Records, home to Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Staple Singers and many others; a funk, R&B and soul label that celebrated interracial creative endeavors at a point in American history when doing so was life-threatening. “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” started streaming Monday on Max.

“The Tuba Thieves,” out Monday PBS’ app, is not about stealing tubas. Well, at least not completely: From 2011 through 2013, tubas started disappearing from high schools in Los Angeles. Filmmaker Alison O’Daniel, who identi es as deaf/hard of hearing, used these thefts as a jumping-o point in her experimental work, which attempts to understand the role of sound

in our lives. That’s music to anyone’s ears.

SHOWS TO STREAM

Has chef Gordon Ramsay met his match in season two of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars?” He faces o against fellow Brit, restaurateur and reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump to nd fresh talent in the food and beverage industry. They each lead teams of contestants who compete in various challenges, and the winner gets $250,000 toward their brand. It’s like “Shark Tank” meets “The Voice” meets “The Apprentice.” Season two debuted Wednesday on Fox. The series also streams on Hulu, Tubi, and Fox.com. Shay Mitchell, best known for the original “Pretty Little Liars” series, is serious about her love of travel. She hosts her travel show on Max but with a twist. “Thirst with Shay Mitchell” is about seeking out beverages unique to each area and soaking up local culture. Mitchell is game to try it all one sip at a time.

“South Park” has never shied away from poking fun at hot-button topics. In a new spe -

cial, weight loss drugs are all the rage in South Park. The kids get involved when Cartman is denied access. “South Park: The End of Obesity” streams Friday on Paramount+.

“My Adventures with Superman” is back for season two on Adult Swim on Saturday. Jack Quaid voices Clark Kent/Superman as a young man who is roommates with his best friend, Jimmy Olson, played by Ishmel Sahid. Alice Lee voices Lois Lane. The lighthearted take on the DC Comics hero also streams on Max.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY

Paper Trail also follows a young woman trying to make her way in the world, but it’s a much less stressful journey. Paige lives in a comfy home with loving parents, but it’s time to go to college. The road isn’t always straightforward, but Paige has a unique talent: She can treat her environment like paper, folding it to reconnect broken pathways. The result, from British studio Newfangled Games, is a series of colorful, 2D mazes with charming graphics that look handcrafted.

Lenny Kravitz’s new album, “Blue Electric Light,” comes out this week.

AMAZON / AP PHOTO

“The Blue Angels” is available this week on Amazon Prime.

HOKE COUNTY

Summer school

Four Hoke County Schools rising seniors are heading to the four-week Governor’s School Summer Program in Raleigh next month. Pictured above, from left to right, are Hoke High’s Cameela Byrd, and SandHoke Early College’s Anselmo Sanchez, Christopher Jones and Allison Pratt. Congratulations!

Surveying error raises costs for new high school project

Malfunctioning tra c lights to become all-way stops

NCDOT is updating the state’s tra c signals so they will ash red in every direction following an equipment failure or something else that disrupts normal operation. Currently, a malfunctioning signal ashes yellow on the main corridor and red on smaller roads.

As drivers approach an intersection that is malfunctioning, the red ashing light should be treated as a stop sign.

NCDOT has more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, including those operated by municipal agreements in several cities. The department will phase in this change over the next year as part of the preventative maintenance it already conducts on tra c signals.

NCWRC warns: Don’t feed the bears!

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding North Carolinians that the state’s bear population continues to grow, and, with human-bear interactions increasing, to make sure never to feed or approach bears and to make sure bird feeders and garbage are secure.

Perhaps more important is advice to never handle, attempt to catch, or feed bear cubs — even if they appear to be alone. Mother bears will frequently temporarily leave their cubs in a safe place but remain nearby and could defend their cubs or, worse, abandon them after interactions with humans.

For more on black bears, visit bearwise.org

The surveyor misidenti ed a non-potable citywater line

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

IN A CONSTRUCTION update on the new Hoke County High School, the Hoke County Schools Board of Education was told at its May 14 meeting the district had to eat into a large portion of its contingency funds due to a surveying discrepancy.

“At the beginning of the project, the surveyor went out and identi ed a water line that went by the stadium and across the footprint of the school and out towards the front,” said project manager John Birath. “They had identi ed that as a water line, which it was, however it is not a potable water line. That was a well surface line for the city of Raeford that goes to the water treatment plant. That was not discovered until about January, so everything had already been bid out, tractors had mobilized and they were getting to start

their connections and tie-ins to that line.”

In response, the utility plan had to be revised in order to both reroute the city waterline around the school building, and also place new water lines to service the school and service the eld house and irrigation.

So far, the new high school has spent about 30% of its contingency budget or just shy of $400,000.

Birath said the costs could not be attributed to either the contractor or designer, as the surveyor was hired by Hoke County Schools.

“The good news though, is we’re completing some other changes with some actual savings,” Birath said. “We had a big one with the geothermal eld. We were able to reduce it by quite a bit, which is then going to turn into a lot of savings and we’ll be updating you on those nal amounts at your next board meeting.”

The board also approved the 2024 -25 local budget request.

“I’m hoping that the county commissioners will agree with me, but if they don’t I hope they give us a cushion,” said Hoke

“It’s the Board of Education’s duty to plan for schools.” Board member Ruben Castellon on requesting funding for land banking

Schools Finance O cer Willena Richardson. Board member Ruben Castellon requested to have $6 million added to the budget request for land banking, but his motion failed without a second, as a few other board members stated they knew that the request would not be approved by the Board of Commissioners.

“An issue that the County Commissioners had the last time was that we didn’t have land identied,” said Board Member Keisha Gill. “They’re not just going to give us money just to hold for some land, and we don’t know where to build. We don’t have land that’s been identi ed. So, I really think that’s going to be an issue.”

“It’s the board of education’s duty to plan for schools,” Castellon responded. “There is no reason why we cannot request for money. … We can’t speak for the County Commissioners.”

The board also acknowledged the district nominees for Governor’s School.

“The goal of Governor’s School is for students to help build a vibrant learning community,” said Director of AIG and Advanced Studies Linden Cummings. “Learning focuses on the exploration of the most recent ideas and the concepts in each discipline. It emphasizes cooperative and collective e orts ranging from orchestral and choral music to partner experiments and whole class projects.”

The four nominees are Cameela Byrd from Hoke County High School and Anselmo Sanchez, Allison Pratt and Christopher Jones from SandHoke Early College High School.

According to Cummings, the AIG program will pay the $600 tuition for each student.

Finally, the district saw an uptick in vacancies, now having ballooned to 110 total vacancies, although there is a job fair planned for June 8. The superintendent also recommended a new clear backpack policy at Hoke High School for next year.

The Hoke County Schools Board of Education will next meet June 11.

sional approval for the future interstate in 2021. Regional leaders are now seeking an additional future interstate designation for US - 421 north of Winston- Salem.

Upgrading the highway to interstate standards will take years

By Jordan Golson and PJ Ward-Brown Chatham News & Record

LIBERTY — State and local leaders gathered Monday in Randolph County to celebrate the designation of U.S. Highway 421 as the future Interstate 685. The event, held next to the under- construction Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant, featured the unveiling of new Future I- 685 signs that will be going up along the route from Greensboro to Sanford.

“Today’s unveiling of the Future Interstate 685 sign is a true

testament to the collaboration and teamwork that is fueling our economic momentum here in the Carolina Core,” said Loren Hill, Carolina Core Regional Economic Development Director, at the event.

I- 685 will eventually run from Interstate 85 to Interstate 95, improving connectivity and commerce across the region. According to N.C. Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, upgrading US - 421 to interstate standards will take place in phases over many years, coordinating with local governments. Two new interchanges are already under construction near the Toyota plant site and will open in the coming months.

The future interstate is expected to be a major draw for

new businesses to locate in the area. “One of the main things (businesses) look for is the transportation network,” said Hopkins. “They all want to be adjacent to or near an interstate.”

Designating US - 421 as a future interstate has been a key initiative spearheaded by the Piedmont Triad Partnership since launching the Carolina Core brand in 2018 for the region anchored by Greensboro, Winston- Salem, High Point and Fayetteville. The region has seen $20 billion in investment and 50,000 new jobs announced in recent years from companies around the world.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and former Sen. Richard Burr were instrumental in getting congres-

The Toyota battery plant and Wolfspeed semiconductor factory, both under construction a few miles apart, represent some of the biggest economic development projects in the state, bringing thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the region.

“This is really the heart of that interstate,” said Randolph County Commissioner Darrell Frye. “We’re just ripe for future opportunities like this,” added Hopkins.

By Ena Sellers North State Journal

THE NORTH Carolina Ofce of State Fire Marshal announced the recipients of the 2024 Volunteer Fire Department Fund, also known as Fire Grant, on May 15. Three departments in Hoke County received more than $50,000 between them. Stonewall Rural Fire received $18,760, Tylertown Fire got $12,523 and West Hoke Fire received $19,335.15. The mon-

ey will go towards new equipment and must be paired with matching funds.

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities,” stated Brian Taylor, State Fire Marshal in the announcement. “Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely.”

The letters notifying each re department of the grant award and thanking them for their hard work and dedication were sent last week.

According to the OSFM these funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar for up to $40,000, unless the re department receives less than $50,000 per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the volunteer re department will need to match $1 for each $3 of grant funds. The grant award is administered through the N.C. Department of Insurance.

The Volunteer Fire Department Fund was created in 1988 by the General Assembly to help volunteer units raise funds for their re ghting equipment and supplies.

May 15

• Rashid Devonne Rhodes, 22, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of assault and strangulation.

• Charles Jermain Isaac, 24, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of parole violation.

• Calvin Corey McBryde, 53, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of habitual breaking and entering.

May 16

• James Nelson Zimmer, 27, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of misdemeanor larceny.

• Lakeisha Hope, 40, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of first-degree trespassing and felony larceny.

May 17

• Dashan Dominique Farrington, 27, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of resisting arrest, hindering, and delaying, as well as driving while intoxicated (DWI).

• Thia Lynn Wheeler, 39, was booked into the Hoke County Jail for a parole violation.

• Timothy Lee Faircloth, 32, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of conspiracy to commit a felony.

• Staryante Davine Butler, 25, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of failure to appear.

• Eric Jamal Gillespie, 36, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of resisting arrest.

• Terry Lee Thompson, 29, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on two warrants for failure to appear.

• Robert Paul Burr, 34, was booked into the Hoke County Jail for a probation violation.

May 18

• Nicholas William Cox, 24, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of possessing a firearm as a felon.

• Bruce Harris, 55, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on charges of misdemeanor larceny and resisting arrest.

May 19

• Vicente McLaughlin, 34, was booked into the Hoke County Jail for failure to appear.

May 20

• Justin Jurrell Streater, 37, was booked into the Hoke County Jail on a charge of simple assault.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

| SUSAN ESTRICH

The prosecution has made its case

Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s. The big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case or whether the jury will accept it but whether it all will matter.

DID DONALD TRUMP falsify business records to cover up his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels? Did he do it to hold onto women voters in the days leading up to the 2016 election?

Reading the daily press accounts of the New York trial leaves little doubt that the prosecution made its case.

Michael Cohen is a liar, convicted as one, but his testimony addressed and answered the key questions in the case. Daniels at one point denied having an a air with the former president, but she did not waver at the trial. Her account of her interaction with the former president was searing. The records were clear. Hush money is not a legal expense. Cohen did what he was told. Trump was fully on board. What more could you expect from the prosecution?

With closing arguments expected to come as soon as next week, the defense has yet to introduce an alternative narrative of what happened here.

There is no alternative narrative. They may claim it was all to protect his family, to shield Melania from embarrassment, but Hope Hicks made clear there was a political imperative. And who would believe that it was all for Melania? It was for Trump.

Even the most cynical of the talking heads acknowledged that over the course of the trial,

the chances of a conviction increased. The question, and it has always been the question, is to what end? Will the jury convict?

Juries like judges, and this one, by all reports, should command the greatest respect of the jurors. He has controlled the courtroom, been even-tempered and even-handed. The judge will read the instructions, inform the jury of the elements of the crime and ask them to apply the law to the facts they nd. It should not be di cult.

This is not a complex fact situation. It was a straightforward payo for an obvious purpose — and it worked, until it didn’t. If the jury does what the judge instructs them to, and there is no reason at this point to think they will not, it should not be di cult for them to reach a verdict.

Will they be swayed by the fact that they are convicting a former president?

It could happen, of course, but they have been sitting in a courtroom with him for over a month. He has, in all likelihood, been reduced to human size.

They’ve watched him squirm and smirk and struggle to stay awake.

Whatever kismet he brought to the room when they rst confronted him should have worn o by now. He is human-sized. Their job is straightforward, for all the historical footnotes.

No, the big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case — it has — or whether the jury will accept it — they should — but whether it all will matter. Signi cant numbers of voters have told pollsters that a criminal conviction will make them less likely to vote for Trump, but will it really? Will they simply accept this, as they did the E. Jean Carroll verdict, as yet another example of Trump being Trump? So he paid hush money to a woman with whom he had an exploitive sexual relationship. So he did it to try to protect himself in the presidential election. So he falsi ed it as legal expenses. So what? At what point is enough enough? At what point will people with morals and values be unwilling to compromise on a leader who is de cient on both scores? The parade of Republicans who have shown up at the courthouse to support Trump during this trial is a testament to the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. They should be ashamed of themselves. Only half in jest, they were willing to risk control of the House oor to get in line for the cameras and kiss the ring. Someday, hopefully, we will look back on all of this and wonder how so many people who should know better took temporary leave of their senses to stand by a man who does not deserve their support. But between now and then, the jurors and then the voters must decide.

The world’s — and the Pacific Rim’s — disastrous population implosion

WILL THE WORLD be better o with fewer people?

For years that has been a hypothetical question posed to suggest an a rmative answer. Fewer people, it was claimed, would mean less depredation of natural resources, less urban overcrowding, more room for other species to stretch their (actual or metaphorical) legs. Mankind was a parasite, a blight, and overpopulation a disease. Fewer people would mean a better Earth.

Not everyone has agreed. More people, argued the late economist Julian Simon, means more inventors, more innovators, more creators. Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father’s 17 children. Would America, and the world, have been better o if his father had stopped at 14?

More people also means more consumers and taxpayers. More consumers to pay for the goods and services of private-sector workers. More taxpayers to pay for, among other things, bene ts for the elderly and in rm.

Whatever you think, whether the world would be better o with fewer people is no longer a hypothetical or rhetorical question. It is, it seems, a question squarely presented, or just about to be presented, by reality.

“Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep population constant,” Greg Ip and Janet Adamy write in The Wall Street Journal. “It may have already happened.”

The global replacement rate, they point out, is 2.2 children per woman, with the 0.2 representing the children who do not grow into adulthood and the excess of boys over girls in countries where many parents abort female babies. Demographers have long noticed the world is heading toward 2.2 but expected it to take longer to get there. The United Nations pegged it at 2.5 in 2017. It fell to 2.3 in 2021, and incoming data suggest it’s declined signi cantly since then.

Previous traumatic events have produced higher birthrates, like America’s and eventually Europe’s post-World War II baby boom. But the COVID-19 pandemic, after an initial spike in births resembling ones occurring nine months after electricity blackouts, has produced even fewer births than pessimistic experts predicted.

Total world population won’t start falling immediately. One estimate is that world population, now about 8.1 billion, will peak at 9.6 billion in 2061. The fears that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation have proved unfounded, and population control e orts by the likes of the Rockefeller Foundation and Warren Bu ett have petered out.

As technology historian Vaclav Smil points out, the discovery in 1908 of the Haber-Bosch process for producing synthetic ammonia has led to food production that can feed the world’s current billions and many more.

Thomas Malthus, who in 1798 wrote that any population increase would result in famine and disease, is dead.

Today the negative e ects of subreplacement population growth are already being felt. Government pensions and elderly medical care are proving di cult to sustain in the United States and western Europe.

Economic growth seldom rises to pre-2000 levels because the labor force is growing little, or even shrinking.

More striking e ects are seen in East Asia, as set out by American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt for Foreign A airs. Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s.

Decades later, the result is that East Asia’s working-age cohort is now shrinking. By 2050, it will have more people over 80 than children under 15.

These countries, Eberstadt writes, “will nd it harder to generate economic growth, accumulate investments, and build wealth; to fund their safety nets; and to mobilize their armed forces.” China may not be able to amass huge armies to overcome the U.S. and its allies as it did in Korea in 1950. But Japan and South Korea will not be able to raise troops in numbers they once did. And will China attack Taiwan before its cohort of military-age men shrinks further?

“The long-heralded ‘Asian century’ may never truly arrive,” Eberstadt writes. And on the other side of the Paci c Rim, between 2020 and 2023, California’s population fell by 538,000, or 1.4%. This is a reversal of more than 150 years of above-U.S.average growth and despite the state’s physical climate and beautiful scenery.

This astonishing trend owes much to dreadful public policies that have incentivized modest-income people with families, including immigrants, to move out, even though California still attracts highly skilled college graduates from “back East.” But how many children will they produce? Will a declining-in-fertility America produce enough o spring to replenish Silicon Valley and Hollywood?

Absent a horri c military clash, the Paci c Rim that has produced so much innovation seems about to settle into an increasingly uncomfortable, hardscrabble and uncreative old age, with no gaggles of nephews, nieces, grandchildren and cousins who give hope that things will keep improving.

Not the paradise the population control people promised.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

COLUMN

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

HOKE SPORTS

Leak takes two state bests in track and eld

A roundup of athletes from the county

North State Journal

HOKE COUNTY’S spring sports seasons came to an end, as three individual athletes went as far as they could go in the championships of their respective sports.

Track and eld

Hoke County sophomore William Leak brought a pair of individual honors home from the state 4A track meet, held at NC A&T’s Truist Stadium.

Leak, last week’s Athlete of the Week, followed up his dominant performance at the regional meet with a pair of top jumps

Hoke’s Nicholas Bryant prepares to hit a target. The elite skeet shooter is also now working with Hendrick Motorsports.

in the state championships. His jump of 47 feet, 2 ½ inches was the best distance in the boys’ triple jump. He also topped all other athletes in the boys’ high jump, turning in a jump of 6 feet, 6 inches. Leak also added a long jump of 21 feet, 9 inches, which earned him a twelfthplace nish.

Racing

Hoke county resident Nicholas Bryant announced a milestone as he advances his NASCAR support team career. “I am thrilled to share that I have successfully completed multiple rigorous TIG welding tests and have been o ered a position as a welder and fabricator at Hendrick Motorsports,” Bryant posted on his social media ac-

count. “It is truly a dream come true for me, a small-town boy, to be able to weld for the most successful team in NASCAR history.”

Bryant is also a top-level shooter who, in March, was named to the National Skeet Shooting Association’s All-American team.

Boys’ golf

Hoke boys’ golf made its rst-ever trip to states, competing in the NCHSAA 4A state meet at Pinehurst No. 9. Senior Robert Reedy and junior Jordan Palmer braved the pouring rain to turn in strong two-day performances. Reedy turned in scores of 78 and 75 for a total of 153, which tied for 42nd place. Palmer shot 81 and 85, for a total of 166, and nished 78th.

Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway, dies at 65

The legendary executive joined NASCAR in 1989

The Associated Press

CONCORD — Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway and an oldschool promoter mentored by stock car racing’s pioneers, has died, Speedway Motorsports announced. He was 65.

Gossage stepped down three years ago after 25 years as president of the track in Fort Worth, Texas. In all, Gossage spent 32 years working for Speedway Motorsports, learning the art of selling tickets, packing grandstands and turning races into

must-see spectacles from company founder Bruton Smith and longtime executive Humpy Wheeler.

“There was nothing too crazy for Eddie,” IndyCar team owner Bobby Rahal said. “There was nothing too extreme for Eddie in terms of promotions at the races. He was a promoter. You don’t see that often anymore. Most people, yeah, they rent the track out and that’s it, and then complain about not enough spectators coming or something. He was a promoter.”

Gossage had worked for Miller Brewing Co. in motorsports management before joining Speedway Motorsports in 1989.

He was still a young public relations director three years later when, during a news conference to promote NASCAR’s rst nighttime All-Star race — appropriately billed “One Hot Night” — one of his stunts literally set Smith’s hair on re. Smith was tasked with throwing a giant light switch rigged by Gossage to highlight the speedway’s new lighting system. But it shorted out and sparks ew, and Gossage once recalled, “I thought I was headed for the unemployment line for sure.”

“But for some reason, Bruton kept me around,” Gossage said several years ago, “and it wasn’t long after that he gave me an

Robert Reedy

County, boys’ golf

Robert Reedy is a senior on the Hoke County boys’ golf team.

Reedy, a co-captain of the Bucks golf team this year, was one of two golfers to make the trip to Pinehurst for the NCHSAA state 4A championships. He was joined by fellow co-captain Jordan Palmer.

The pair became the rst Bucks’ boys’ golfers to compete in the state meet. Reedy shot 78 on day one and 75 on day two, nishing in a tie for 42nd place.

opportunity I could have only dreamed of.”

Smith had begun buying land in North Texas, and he sent Gossage from Charlotte to Fort Worth in 1995 to oversee the project as general manager. Texas Motor Speedway opened two years later for its rst NASCAR race, and soon it became one of the premier entertainment facilities in the country, along with a centerpiece of the Speedway Motorsports portfolio.

The 1,500-acre complex includes the 1.5-mile superspeedway, 194 luxury suites, 76 condominiums, a nine-story Speedway Club, o ce space and the 11,000-seat Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. When he announced his retirement in 2021, Gossage said his approach sometimes borrowed from boxing promoters Bob Arum and Don King — and that his ideas were sometimes outrageous. But his intentions were always for the best inter-

est of the fans, the racing and the speedway, and that is why so many remembered him so fondly on Friday.

“Eddie Gossage was a consummate promoter whose outside-the-box ideas helped engage fans across the country,” NASCAR said in a statement Friday. “He was truly passionate about motorsports and always looking for the next great idea to bring new fans to the sport and keep them entertained at the racetrack.”

Funeral arrangements were pending. Survivors include Gossage’s wife, Melinda, a daughter, son and three grandchildren.

“Each day I come to work, I see the impact he had throughout our property,” Texas Motor Speedway general manager Mark Faber said. “Eddie laid a foundation for success to build upon for generations to come and made Texas Motor Speedway a showplace of which Texans will always be proud.”

JASON JACKSON OF JSK PHOTOGRAPHY LLC

PHOTO COURTESY BRYANT’S FACEBOOK PAGE

SIDELINE REPORT

PGA

Arrest, 8th-place

nish in hectic weekend for Sche er

Louisville Scottie Sche er nished o what he called a “hectic” week at the PGA Championship by surging to an eighth-place nish. The world’s top-ranked golfer shot a 6-under 65 to nish at 13 under for the tournament. The round came two days after Sche er spent time in a Louisville jail following his arrest on charges stemming from a tra c incident. Sche er is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The 27-year-old Texan says he’s not sure what’s in store on the legal front in the near future and he’s mostly focused on getting home to his wife and newborn son.

GYMNASTICS

Biles shines in return to mat Hartford, Conn.

Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic. The 27-year-old Biles posted an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points clear of runnerup Shilese Jones. Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, saw her hopes for a career comeback at 28 take a hit. Douglas fell twice on uneven bars in her rst event and pulled out of the nal three rotations.

BOXING

Usyk beats Fury to become the rst undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the rst undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninthround knockdown in a backand-forth bout between two previously unbeaten heavyweight champs. Two judges favored Usyk, 115112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113. Usyk started quickly, but then had to survive while Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk rallied in the nal rounds.

MLB Bad Bunny sports agency sues baseball players’ union over ban, announces Acuña Jr. as client

New York Music star Bad Bunny’s sports representation rm sued the baseball players’ association Thursday, asking for a restraining order against the union that would allow it to keep working with the company’s clients. The agency also said it has added NL MVP Ronal Acuña Jr. as a client. Rimas Sports/ Diamond Sports LLC, sued in U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, accusing the Major League Baseball Players Association of violating Puerto Rico’s general tort claim and tortious interference with its contracts to represent players. The suit claimed the union’s actions blocked it from taking on Acuña as a client.

Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas

the Preakness, giving Lukas his seventh victory in the race, one short of the record held by good friend Bob Ba ert.

By Stephen Whyno The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas worked his way to Seize the Grey after his horse won the Preakness Stakes and kept getting interrupted by well-wishers o ering congratulations.

“I think they’re trying to get rid of me,” Lukas said. “They probably want me to retire. I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Not when the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer keeps winning big-time races.

Seize the Grey ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid Saturday by going wire to wire to win

“I’m only one behind him — I warned him already,” Lukas said. “It never gets old at this level, and I love the competition. I love to get in here with the rest of them.”

The strapping grey colt took advantage of the muddy track just as Lukas hoped he would, pulling o the upset in a second consecutive impressive start two weeks after romping in a race on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Going o at 9-1 as one of the longest shots on the board, Seize the Grey moved to the lead immediately out of the starting gate and never looked back, nishing 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mystik Dan in 1:56.82.

“I thought his action down the backside was beautiful, and

I knew that he was handling the track,” Lukas said. “I said, ‘Watch out, he’s not going to quit.’”

Mystik Dan nished second in the eld of eight horses running in the $2 million, 1 3/16mile race.

“My colt’s a fantastic colt and proud of him,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”

Seize the Grey was a surprise Preakness winner facing tougher competition than in the Pat Day Mile on May 4. Though given the Lukas connection, it should never be a surprise when one of his horses is covered in a blanket of Black-Eyed Susan owers. No one in the race’s 149-year history has saddled more horses in the Preakness than Lukas with 48 since debuting in 1980 and winning that one with Codex. He had two in this time,

with Just Steel nishing fth.

Seize the Grey paid $21.60 to win, $8.40 to place and $4.40 to show. Mystik Dan paid $4.20 and $2.80 after nishing a head in front of third-place Catching Freedom, who paid $3.20 to show.

Mystik Dan was the 2-1 favorite, but he and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. could not replicate their perfect Derby trip to win that race’s rst three-way photo nish since 1947. Instead, Jaime Torres rode Seize the Grey to a win in his rst Triple Crown race of any kind, just two years after starting to ride.

“I have no words,” said Torres, a native of Puerto Rico who did not begin racing until seeing it on TV in late 2019. “I’m very excited, very excited and very thankful to all the people that have been behind me, helping me.”

Brissett embracing role of mentor during his 2nd stint as quarterback with Patriots

The former Wolfpack QB will mentor former Tar Heel Drake Maye

By Kyle Hightower The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jacoby Brissett had no expectations the rst time he walked into the New England Patriots’ training facility in 2016 as a wide-eyed, 23-year-old rookie quarterback.

A third-round pick, he was joining a team that had a fourtime Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Tom Brady at the time and an entrenched backup in Jimmy Garoppolo. Brissett didn’t know if he’d even make the roster.

“Third-string quarterback my rookie year. Took no reps at training camp or (organized team activities) with the rst team. And Week 2 I’m in the game versus the Dolphins,” Brissett recalled on Thursday. “You never know when your opportunity is going to come. You’ve just got to ready.”

Brissett couldn’t have predicted that Brady would begin that 2016 season by serving a four-game suspension as part of his “De ategate” punishment, or that Garoppolo would be injured in the second game of the season against Miami, thrusting him into the starting job for two games. But Brissett’s point is clear.

this and cadence and stu like that,” Brissett said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He can make all the throws.”

After being traded to Indianapolis by the Patriots in 2017, Brissett spent four years with the Colts and had one-year stops in Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

He’s appeared in 79 games with 48 starts along the way, growing into a respected veteran in the league. It comes with lessons that he feels will be helpful to a young quarterback such as Maye.

“He wants to learn football. He wants to get better,” Brissett said. “That’s what you want. Not only in your quarterback but anybody on the team. I’m excited to work with him.”

A chance to impact a team can come at any time. And that’s exactly how the now-31-year-old is approaching his latest stop in New England. With the one-year, $8 million free-agent deal he signed with the Patriots in March, Brissett joins a quarterback room in which he’s largely viewed as a transition player while rstround pick and former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye develops. Lucky for the Patriots, Maye and Brissett already have some

familiarity with one another. Brissett and Maye share a mutual friend in Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell. Maye and Howell both played at North Carolina, and Howell and Brissett were teammates on the Commanders last season. All three spent time together last summer. Since nding out they’d both be joining the Patriots, Maye and Brissett have gotten to know each other better.

“He’s already texting me about plays and how do I think about

Brissett is equally excited about rekindling his relationship with o ensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who served the same role in Cleveland when Brissett was there in 2022 and started for the Browns while Deshaun Watson served his 11-game NFL suspension.

“I’m just going to be myself. I have no ego in this,” Brissett said. “I’m 31 now. I’ve matured as a man, as a football player and learned from those experiences that I’ve had throughout my career. I’ve been fortunate to play along or play beside a lot of really good quarterbacks and a lot of good coaches. The things that I’ve learned hopefully will continue to propel my career.”

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP PHOTO

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett throws a pass at practice, during the 2016 season. One thing Brissett has learned during his eight-year NFL career is to maximize opportunity. That is how he is approaching his second stint with the Patriots.

The victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid

JULIO CORTEZ / AP PHOTO

Jaime Torres, atop Seize The Grey, crosses the nish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course.

What’s

next for Iran’s government after its president’s

Ebrahim Raisi died

in a helicopter crash Sunday

By Joseph Krauss

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — The death of Iran’s president is unlikely to lead to any immediate changes in Iran’s ruling system or to its overarching policies, which are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday, was seen as a prime candidate to succeed the 85-year-old supreme leader, and his death makes it more likely that the job could eventually go to Khamenei’s son.

A hereditary succession would pose a potential crisis of legitimacy for the Islamic Republic, which was established as an alternative to monarchy but which many Iranians already see as a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

Here’s a look at what comes next.

How does Iran’s government work?

Iran holds regular elections for president and parliament with universal su rage.

But the supreme leader has nal say on all major policies, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The supreme leader also appoints half of the 12-member Guardian Council, a clerical body that vets candidates for president, parliament and the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of jurists in charge of choosing the supreme leader.

death?

In theory, the clerics oversee the republic to ensure it complies with Islamic law. In practice, the supreme leader carefully manages the ruling system to balance competing interests, advance his own priorities and ensure that no one challenges the Islamic Republic or his role atop it.

Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a protege of Khamenei, was elected president in 2021 after the Guardian Council blocked any other well-known candidate from running against him, and turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic. He succeeded Hassan Rouhani, a

relative moderate who had served as president for the past eight years and defeated Raisi in 2017.

After Raisi’s death, in accordance with Iran’s constitution, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, a relative unknown, became caretaker president, with elections mandated within 50 days. That vote will likely be carefully managed to produce a president who maintains the status quo. That means Iran will continue to impose some degree of Islamic rule and crack down on dissent. It will enrich uranium, support armed groups across the Middle

East and view the West with deep suspicion. What does this mean for succession?

Presidents come and go, some more moderate than others, but each operates under the structure of the ruling system.

If any major change occurs in Iran, it is likely to come after the passing of Khamenei, when a new supreme leader will be chosen for only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Khamenei succeeded the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The next supreme leader will be chosen by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who are elected every eight years from candidates vetted by the Guardian Council. In the most recent election, in March, Rouhani was barred from running, while Raisi won a seat.

Any discussion of the succession, or machinations related to it, occur far from the public eye, making it hard to know who may be in the running. But the two people seen by analysts as most likely to succeed Khamenei were Raisi and the supreme leader’s own son, Mojtaba, 55, a Shiite cleric who has never held government o ce.

What happens if the supreme leader’s son succeeds him?

Leaders of the Islamic Republic going back to the 1979 revolution have portrayed their system as superior, not only to the democracies of a decadent West, but to the military dictatorships and monarchies that prevail across the Middle East.

The transfer of power from the supreme leader to his son could spark anger, not only among Iranians who are already critical of clerical rule but supporters of the system who might see it as un-Islamic.

Western sanctions linked to the nuclear program have devastated Iran’s economy. And the enforcement of Islamic rule, which grew more severe under Raisi, has further alienated women and young people.

The Islamic Republic has faced several waves of popular protests in recent years, most recently after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly not covering her hair in public. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 were detained in a violent crackdown. Raisi’s death may make the transition to a new supreme leader trickier, and it could spark more unrest.

Assange wins right to appeal extradition to United States

The 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder is wanted on espionage charges

By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless

The Associated Press

LONDON — WikiLeaks

founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.

High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. gov-

ernment provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.

Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classi ed U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.

Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.

Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S.

should “read the situation” and drop the case.

“As a family we are relieved, but how long can this go on?” she said. “This case is shameful, and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian.”

The Australian computer expert has spent the last ve years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.

American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and

military les that WikiLeaks published.

Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “ agrant denial of justice.”

The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classi ed government documents.

The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over

Assange’s claim that by releasing the con dential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.

IRANIAN FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OFFICE VIA AP

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, right, now acting president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leads a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Monday.

KIN CHEUNG / AP PHOTO

A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London on Monday. A British court ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.

Malcolm Bruce Culbreth, Jr.

August 8, 1946 –April 24, 2024

Malcolm B Culbreth, Jr (Mac), sailed away on April 24, 2024, at his home surrounded by his family at the age of 77. Mac Jr. was born August 8, 1946, to the late Malcolm B Culbreth, Sr and Marie Maxwell Culbreth. He retired from the City of Raleigh in 2008 and loved never wearing a watch again. He was preceded in death by parents and the love of his life, Brenda V Culbreth and his younger brother Larry Ray Culbreth. Mac Jr. is survived by his son, Malcolm “Mac” Culbreth III and his wife Susan of Smith eld. His beloved grandchildren, Caleb, Katee Grace and Elizabeth “Izzy” Culbreth. His sister June Melvin and husband David of Greenville along with their children, Neil (Erinn) and Raeanna.

Annie Ruth Locklear

June 17, 1946 – May 18, 2024

Mrs. Annie Ruth Sturdivant Locklear age 77 of FuquayVarina formerly of Raeford went home to be with her Lord and Savior on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at her home. Mrs. Locklear was born in Robeson County on June 17, 1946, to the late Phil Sturdivant and Ethel Oxendine Sturdivant. She was preceded in death by a daughter Debra Locklear, a grandson Ramone Campbell, her siblings, George Ardell Sturdivant, Phil Gus Sturdivant, James Robert Sturdivant, Mary Hasty, Adell Tyler and Eulamae Locklear. She is survived by her children, Carol Locklear Davis (Kenneth) of Raeford, Dale Locklear of Fuquay-Varina, Ruth Locklear Carrington (Eddie) of Fuquay-Varina, Wanda Locklear (Dumar) of Raleigh, NC her sisters, Deborah Taylor (Roy Lee) of Charlotte, Marion Tyler of Raeford and Quinita Forbes (J.C.) of Raeford, NC, a brother Mavis Sturdivant (Deloris) of Raeford, NC. Eleven grandchildren, nine great grandchildren.

Martha Beatty

November 21, 1924 –May 17, 2024

Ms. Martha Beatty age, 99 went home to rest with her Heavenly Father on May 17, 2024. She leaves to cherish her loving memories her children: Rev. Larry Beatty, Mable Stephens, Rebecca B. Dudley, Min. Artis Beatty, Min. Joyce B. McDougald, Jerry Beatty, Linda B. McQueen, Tasha Beatty; ve adopted children: Mary G. Bethune, Sandrea Galberth, Jean Walker, Wanda Galberth, Darien Easterling; thirty four grandchildren, thirty four great grandchildren, three great great great grandchildren along with a host of other family and friends. Mother Martha will be greatly missed.

loved

STATE & NATION

Last student who helped integrate the UNC’s undergraduate body dies

Ralph Kennedy Frasier died May 8 at age 85

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the nal surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill in the 1950s, has died.

Frasier, who had been in declining health over the past several months, died May 8 at age 85 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, according to son Ralph Frasier Jr. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, where Frasier spent much of his working career.

Frasier, his older brother LeRoy, and John Lewis Brandon — all Durham high school classmates — fought successfully against Jim Crow laws when they were able to attend UNC in the fall of 1955. LeRoy Frasier died in late 2017, with Brandon following weeks later.

Initially, the Hillside High

School students’ enrollment applications were denied even though the UNC law school had been integrated a few years earlier. The landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation happened in 1954. The trustee board of UNC — the nation’s oldest public university — then passed a resolution

barring the admission of blacks as undergraduates. The students sued and a federal court ordered they be admitted. The ruling ultimately was a rmed by the U.S. Supreme Court. The trio became plainti s, in part, because their families were insulated from nancial retribution — the brothers’ parents

worked for black-owned North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, for example. The brothers were 14 months apart in age, but Ralph started his education early.

After the legal victory, it still was not easy being on campus.

In an interview at the time of his brother’s death, Frasier recalled that the school’s golf course and the university-owned Carolina Inn were o -limits. At football games, they were seated in a section with custodial workers, who were black. The three lived on their own oor of a section of a dormitory.

“Those days were probably the most stressful of my life,” Frasier told The Associated Press in 2010 when the three visited Chapel Hill to be honored. “I can’t say that I have many happy memories.”

The brothers studied three years at Chapel Hill before Ralph left for the Army and LeRoy for the Peace Corps. Attending UNC “was extremely tough on them. They were tired,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said this week in an interview.

The brothers later graduated from North Carolina Central

Court: Drone pilot can’t o er mapping without NC surveyor’s license

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate a drone photography pilot’s constitutional rights when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a trial court’s decision, found the free-speech protections of Michael Jones and his 360 Virtual Drone Services business weren’t violated by the state’s requirement for a license to o er surveying services.

The litigation marked an emerging con ict between technology disrupting the handson regulated profession of surveying. A state license requires educational and technical experience, which can include examinations and apprenticeships.

Jones sought to expand his drone pilot career by taking composite images that could assist construction companies and others with bird’s-eye views of their interested tracts of land. The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors began investigating his activities in late 2018.

A federal appeals court agreed that a North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate the constitutional rights of drone photographer Michael Jones, pictured in 2021 in Goldsboro, when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license.

The board wrote to Jones in June 2019 and ordered him to stop engaging in “mapping, surveying and photogrammetry; stating accuracy; providing location and dimension data; and producing orthomosaic maps, quantities and topographic information.” Performing surveying work without a license can subject someone to civil and criminal liability. By then, Jones had placed a

disclaimer on his website saying the maps weren’t meant to replace proper surveys needed for mortgages, title insurance and land-use applications.

He stopped trying to develop his mapping business but remained interested in returning to the eld in the future, according to Monday’s opinion. So he sued board members in 2021 on First Amendment grounds.

U.S. District Judge Louise

Flanagan sided with the board members last year, determining that the rules withstood scrutiny because they created a generally applicable licensing system that regulated primarily conduct rather than speech.

Circuit Judge Jim Wynn, writing Monday’s unanimous opinion by the three-member panel, said determining whether such a business prohibition crosses over to a signi cant

University in Durham, a historically black college. LeRoy Frasier worked as an English teacher for many years in New York. Brandon got his degrees elsewhere and worked in the chemical industry.

Frasier also obtained a law degree at N.C. Central, after which began a long career in legal services and banking, rst with Wachovia and later Huntington Bancshares in Columbus.

Ralph Frasier was proud of promoting racial change in the Columbus business community and by serving on a committee that helped put two black jurists on the federal bench, his son said.

Relationships with UNC improved, leading to the 2010 campus celebration of their pioneering e orts, and scholarships were named in their honor.

Still, Ralph Frasier Jr. said it was disappointing to see the current UNC Chapel Hill trustee board vote this week to recommend diverting money from diversity programs for next year.

“It’s almost a smack in the face and a step backwards in time,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said. The action comes as the UNC system’s Board of Governors will soon decide whether to rework its diversity policy for the 17 campuses statewide.

Frasier’s survivors include his wife of 42 years, Jeannine Marie Quick-Frasier; six children, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

speech restriction can be dicult.

“Even where a regulation is in fact aimed at professional conduct, States must still be able to articulate how the regulation is su ciently drawn to promote a substantial state interest,” Wynn said.

In this case, he wrote, it’s important that people can rely on surveyors to provide accurate maps. And there’s no evidence that the maps that Jones wants to create would constitute “unpopular or dissenting speech,” according to Wynn.

“There is a public interest in ensuring there is an incentive for individuals to go through that rigorous process and become trained as surveyors,” he wrote, adding the licensing law “protects consumers from potentially harmful economic and legal consequences that could ow from mistaken land measurements.”

Sam Gedge, an attorney at the Institute for Justice rm representing Jones, said Monday that he and his client want to further appeal the case, whether through the full 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, or at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling says “the state can criminalize sharing certain types of photos without a government-issued license. And it does so on the theory that such a law somehow does not regulate ‘speech,’” Gedge wrote in an email. “That reasoning is badly awed. Taking photos and providing information to willing clients is speech, and it’s fully protected by the First Amendment.”

Joining Wynn — a former North Carolina appeals court judge — in Monday’s opinion were Circuit Judges Steven Agee and Stephanie Thacker.

RUDOLPH FAIRCLOTH / AP PHOTO

Ralph Frasier, right, the nal surviving member of a trio of black students who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill, died May 8 at age 85 in Florida.

GERRY BROOME / AP PHOTO

Highway

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Malfunctioning tra c lights to become all-way stops

NCDOT is updating the state’s tra c signals so they will ash red in every direction following an equipment failure or something else that disrupts normal operation. Currently, a malfunctioning signal ashes yellow on the main corridor and red on smaller roads.

As drivers approach an intersection that is malfunctioning, the red ashing light should be treated as a stop sign.

NCDOT has more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, including those operated by municipal agreements in several cities. The department will phase in this change over the next year as part of the preventative maintenance it already conducts on tra c signals.

NCWRC warns:

Don’t feed the bears!

The NC Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding North Carolinians that the state’s bear population continues to grow, and, with humanbear interactions increasing, to make sure never to feed or approach bears and to make sure bird feeders and garbage are secure.

Perhaps more important is advice to never handle, attempt to catch, or feed bear cubs — even if they appear to be alone. Mother bears will frequently temporarily leave their cubs in a safe place but remain nearby and could defend their cubs or, worse, abandon them after interactions with humans. For more on black bears, visit bearwise.org

Upgrading the highway to interstate standards will take years

By Jordan Golson and PJ Ward-Brown Twin City Herald

LIBERTY — State and local leaders gathered Monday in Randolph County to celebrate the designation of U.S. Highway 421 as the future Interstate 685. The event, held next to the under-construction Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant, featured the unveiling of new Future I-685 signs that will be going up along the route from Greensboro to Sanford.

“Today’s unveiling of the Future Interstate 685 sign is a true testament to the collabo -

ration and teamwork that is fueling our economic momentum here in the Carolina Core,” said Loren Hill, Carolina Core Regional Economic Development Director, at the event.

I-685 will eventually run from Interstate 85 to Interstate 95, improving connectivity and commerce across the region.

According to N.C. Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, upgrading US-421 to interstate standards will take place in phases over many years, coordinating with local governments. Two new interchanges are already under construction near the Toyota plant site and will open in the coming months.

The future interstate is expected to be a major draw for new businesses to locate in the area. “One of the main things

“One of the main things (businesses) look for is the transportation network… They all want to be adjacent to or near an interstate.”

NC Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins

(businesses) look for is the transportation network,” said Hopkins. “They all want to be adjacent to or near an interstate.”

Designating US-421 as a future interstate has been a key initiative spearheaded by the Piedmont Triad Partnership

since launching the Carolina Core brand in 2018 for the region anchored by Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Fayetteville. The region has seen $20 billion in investment and 50,000 new jobs announced in recent years from companies around the world.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and former Sen. Richard Burr were instrumental in getting congressional approval for the future interstate in 2021. Regional leaders are now seeking an additional future interstate designation for US-421 north of Winston-Salem.

The Toyota battery plant and Wolfspeed semiconductor factory, both under construction a few miles apart, represent some of the biggest economic development projects in the state, bringing thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the region.

“This is really the heart of that interstate,” said Randolph County Commissioner Darrell Frye. “We’re just ripe for future opportunities like this,” added Hopkins.

worry that we’re going to set people up to see their checks change and then we’re again harming our sta when they right now know it is what it is because we’re not guaranteed this money. It is not guaranteed money.”

The contract for Tricia McManus will run until 2029, a four-year extension

By Ryan Henkel Twin City Herald

FORSYTH COUNTY will see some continuity in its school system as Superintendent Tricia McManus’ contract was renewed for an additional four years, now running through 2029.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education approved the contract at its May 14 meeting.

“I realize we don’t agree on everything, but working with her publicly and working with her privately behind closed doors, I do see someone that has the heart, that has the mind and that has the energy to do what’s good for our district,” said

Board Member Robert Barr.

McManus has been the superintendent since Feb. 15, 2021 and this is the second extension to her contract.

“Thank you for your vote of condence,” McManus said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do to continue moving the needle. We had some great evidence of growth last year, but it’s not enough and we need to keep going. We’re about continuous improvement, staying the course with what’s working and making changes and course corrections to what’s not, but we will always keep students front and center in our decisions.”

Board member Steve Wood was the lone dissent on the motion. At a meeting at the end of April, the board signed o on the district’s recommended 2024-25 budget proposal, with a request for $20.1 million in local funding out of a $164 million total budget.

Alongside the budget approval, the board will use a reserve in Article 46 funds in order to increase teacher supplements. That passed by a nal vote of 6-2. The decision allocates $4.6 million in funding to boost teacher supplements by approximately $700, split over 10 monthly paychecks.

Board members Alex Bohannon and Sabrina Coone were the dissenting votes.

“I fully believe our teachers need their money,” Coone said. “The money was for them. Right now, it is sitting at $4.6 million and if we are tracking the way we are supposed to be tracking, we will have to use $2-ish million of that money to cover next year when we do supplements. So that really just leaves us $2 million and carryover for Article 46 for next year and when I look at it like that, I think to myself, is it worth it? Is it worth getting to the point where we have nothing left? I

In other business, the board approved the usage of $8.5 million of the 2/3rd’s bond funds for various district facility projects, a $30 million maximum price for the East Forsyth High School construction project and the naming of four items at M. Douglas Crater Stadium: the Zack H. Bacon, IV Hall of Champions; the Mary Garber & Stuart O. Scott Press Box; the Robert Deaton Field House; and the Bob “Cheeky” Cox Goal Post.

The Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools Board of Education will next meet May 28.

U.S.

421 will eventually become Interstate 685 between I-85 in Greensboro to I-95 in Harnett County. The new interstate will run through the heart of the 120-mile Carolina Core strategic development area that stretches from Winston-Salem to Fayetteville. Above, N.C. Transportation Board member Lisa Mathis and Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins stand next to a Future I-685 sign.

Share with your community! Send us your births, deaths, marriages, graduations and other announcements: forsythcommunity@ northstatejournal.com

Weekly deadline is Monday at Noon

Forsyth volunteer re depts. receive almost $40K in grants

The Fire Grant helps local departments with funding to purchase equipment

By Ena Sellers Twin City Herald

THE NORTH CAROLINA

O ce of State Fire Marshal announced the recipients of the 2024 Volunteer Fire Department Fund, also known as Fire Grant, on May 15. Two departments in Forsyth County received more than $14,000 between them. Min-

eral Springs Fire was awarded $22,973 and Salem Chapel Fire received $15,683. The money will go towards new equipment and must be paired with matching funds.

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities,” stated Brian Taylor, State Fire Marshal in the announcement. “Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equipment and supplies needed to do

their jobs correctly and safely.”

The letters notifying each re department of the grant award and thanking them for their hard work and dedication were sent last week.

According to the OSFM these funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar for up to $40,000, unless the re department receives less than $50,000 per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the volunteer re department will need to match $1 for each $3 of grant fund.The grant award is administered

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities.”

State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor

through the NC Department of Insurance.

The Volunteer Fire Department Fund was created in 1988 by the General Assembly to help volunteer units raise funds for their re ghting equipment and supplies.

Navy wings are made of gold

The world-famous U.S. Navy Blue Angels are the world’s premiere ghter demonstration team, though some Air Force a cionados might disagree with that assessment.

They appeared earlier this month at the MCAS Cherry Point Air Show, performing incredible feats of aerial acrobatics and tight-formation y-bys. Countless other aircraft, including the F-22, the aircraft that shot down the Chinese spy balloon last year and perhaps the most capable ghter in the world, were also at the show.

The event generally takes place every two years and was voted as the best air show in the country by the readers of USA Today. The show was last held in 2021. Thanks to photographer Annette Roberson and her husband, Chatham County Sheri Mike Roberson, for these photos from the event.

PHOTOS COURTESY ANNETTE ROBERSON

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

The controversial graduation speech

Liberals are drawing up petitions to have him red from the Chiefs and banned from the NFL.

THERE ARE LOTS of great speeches made this time of year at graduation ceremonies all over the country. I don’t think there has ever been one that has received more attention than the speech given by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker at Benedictine Catholic College in Kansas over Mother’s Day weekend.

Most people probably never heard of this kicker before. I know I wasn’t familiar with the name. For the past week, there has been lots of chattering about this young man and the “Controversial Speech” he gave.

Liberals are drawing up petitions to have him red from the Chiefs and banned from the NFL. Social media is going crazy and would like to have Butker erased from humanity (one writer suggested).

Let’s look at what he had to say that has garnered so much attention and criticism. He spoke about his Catholic faith and serving God. He discussed an erosion of traditional Catholic values. He claimed “abortion and euthanasia and also a growing support for degenerate cultural values and media” are coming from a “pervasiveness of disorder.”

He criticized President Biden for proclaiming his Catholic faith and “being delusional enough to make the sign of the cross during a pro-abortion rally.” He said the president made it seem as if you could

be Catholic and pro-choice.

He chastised world leaders for “pushing dangerous gender ideologies onto the youth of America.” He thanked the students at Benedictine for embracing their religion with pride but “not the deadly sin sort of pride that has an entire month dedicated to it.”

He blasted the Catholic Church and priests and bishops for “misleading their ocks.” He said they had failed their parishioners by not being teachers.

The comments that garnered the most criticism were his comments to the young women in the graduating class. He told the women that they had been told “diabolical lies” about their future careers and that many of them would want to be wives and mothers. He then went on to tell his personal story of his family and how their success was the result of his wife’s dedication and commitment to being a wife and mother. While expressing his love for his wife he became very emotional. Because of his “controversial” remarks, the Benedictine nuns condemned him, and the NFL put out a statement distancing themselves and “disagreeing” with his comments. Imagine that. The NFL has had one incident after another of scandals surrounding players and they have been speechless regarding the misbehavior of these spoiled children, but this speech gets a strong reaction.

The prosecution has made its case

The big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case or whether the jury will accept it but whether it all will matter.

Did Donald Trump falsify business records to cover up his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels? Did he do it to hold onto women voters in the days leading up to the 2016 election?

Reading the daily press accounts of the New York trial leaves little doubt that the prosecution made its case.

Michael Cohen is a liar, convicted as one, but his testimony addressed and answered the key questions in the case. Daniels at one point denied having an a air with the former president, but she did not waver at the trial.

Her account of her interaction with the former president was searing. The records were clear. Hush money is not a legal expense. Cohen did what he was told. Trump was fully on board. What more could you expect from the prosecution?

With closing arguments expected to come as soon as next week, the defense has yet to introduce an alternative narrative of what happened here. There is no alternative narrative. They may claim it was all to protect his family, to shield Melania from embarrassment, but Hope Hicks made clear there was a political imperative. And who would believe that it was all for Melania? It was for Trump.

Even the most cynical of the talking heads acknowledged that over the course of the trial, the chances of a conviction

increased. The question, and it has always been the question, is to what end? Will the jury convict?

Juries like judges, and this one, by all reports, should command the greatest respect of the jurors. He has controlled the courtroom, been even-tempered and even-handed. The judge will read the instructions, inform the jury of the elements of the crime and ask them to apply the law to the facts they nd. It should not be di cult.

This is not a complex fact situation. It was a straightforward payo for an obvious purpose — and it worked, until it didn’t. If the jury does what the judge instructs them to, and there is no reason at this point to think they will not, it should not be di cult for them to reach a verdict.

Will they be swayed by the fact that they are convicting a former president?

It could happen, of course, but they have been sitting in a courtroom with him for over a month. He has, in all likelihood, been reduced to human size.

They’ve watched him squirm and smirk and struggle to stay awake.

Whatever kismet he brought to the room when they rst confronted him should have worn o by now. He is human-sized. Their job is straightforward, for all the historical footnotes.

No, the big question is not whether the

The students at the college gave Butker a standing ovation. His jersey has been the No. 1 seller for the NFL since the speech. The women’s jerseys have completely sold out.

This speech was, in my opinion, right on target. It’s hard to understand the backlash to sound mainstream traditional values.

From my own experience, I can say that the greatest satisfaction and pride in my life has been in being a wife and mother. Nothing else compares to the ful llment of watching my children grow up and spending as much time as I can with them.

As Barbara Bush once said, “I’ve never heard anyone say, ‘I wish I had spent more time on my career.’ I’ve heard many say, ‘I wish I had spent more time with my family.’”

God has blessed me in so many ways. I’ve had a successful career and have enjoyed every new challenge that He has given me. I have been able to accomplish things, with His help, that I could never have done on my own. But the blessing of having my family and being able to spend time with my children and watch them grow tops everything.

Sen. Joyce Krawiec has represented Forsyth County and the 31st District in the North Carolina Senate since 2014. She lives in Kernersville.

prosecution has made its case — it has — or whether the jury will accept it — they should — but whether it all will matter.

Signi cant numbers of voters have told pollsters that a criminal conviction will make them less likely to vote for Trump, but will it really?

Will they simply accept this, as they did the E. Jean Carroll verdict, as yet another example of Trump being Trump? So he paid hush money to a woman with whom he had an exploitive sexual relationship. So he did it to try to protect himself in the presidential election. So he falsi ed it as legal expenses. So what? At what point is enough enough?

At what point will people with morals and values be unwilling to compromise on a leader who is de cient on both scores?

The parade of Republicans who have shown up at the courthouse to support Trump during this trial is a testament to the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. They should be ashamed of themselves.

Only half in jest, they were willing to risk control of the House oor to get in line for the cameras and kiss the ring. Someday, hopefully, we will look back on all of this and wonder how so many people who should know better took temporary leave of their senses to stand by a man who does not deserve their support. But between now and then, the jurors and then the voters must decide.

TRIAD STRAIGHT TALK | SEN. JOYCE KRAWIEC

COLUMN | SUSAN ESTRICH

Forsyth SPORTS

SIDELINE REPORT

PGA

Arrest, 8th-place

nish in hectic

weekend for Sche er

Louisville

Scottie Sche er nished o what he called a “hectic” week at the PGA Championship by surging to an eighthplace nish. The world’s topranked golfer shot a 6-under 65 to nish at 13 under for the tournament. The round came two days after Sche er spent time in a Louisville jail following his arrest on charges stemming from a tra c incident. Sche er is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The 27-year-old Texan says he’s not sure what’s in store on the legal front in the near future and he’s mostly focused on getting home to his wife and newborn son.

GYMNASTICS

Biles shines in return to mat

Hartford, Conn.

Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic. The 27-year-old Biles posted an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points clear of runner-up Shilese Jones. Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, saw her hopes for a career comeback at 28 take a hit. Douglas fell twice on uneven bars in her rst event and pulled out of the nal three rotations.

BOXING

Usyk beats Fury to become rst undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the rst undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninthround knockdown in a backand-forth bout between two previously unbeaten heavyweight champs. Two judges favored Usyk, 115-112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113. Usyk started quickly, but then had to survive while Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk rallied in the nal rounds.

MLB

Bad Bunny sports agency sues baseball players’ union over ban, announces Acuña Jr. as client

New York Music star Bad Bunny’s sports representation rm sued the baseball players’ association Thursday, asking for a restraining order against the union that would allow it to keep working with the company’s clients. The agency also said it has added NL MVP Ronal Acuña Jr. as a client. Rimas Sports/Diamond Sports LLC, sued in U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, accusing the Major League Baseball Players Association of violating Puerto Rico’s general tort claim and tortious interference with its contracts to represent players. The suit claimed the union’s actions blocked it from taking on Acuña as a client.

Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway, dies at 65

The legendary executive joined NASCAR in 1989

The Associated Press

CONCORD — Eddie Gossage, the longtime head of Texas Motor Speedway and an old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing’s pioneers, has died, Speedway Motorsports announced. He was 65.

Gossage stepped down three years ago after 25 years as president of the track in Fort Worth, Texas. In all, Gossage spent 32 years working for Speedway Motorsports, learning the art of selling tickets, packing grandstands and turning races into must-see spectacles from company founder Bruton Smith and longtime executive Humpy Wheeler.

“There was nothing too crazy for Eddie,” IndyCar team owner Bobby Rahal said. “There was nothing too extreme for Eddie in terms of promotions at the races. He was a promoter. You don’t see that often anymore. Most people, yeah, they rent the track out and that’s it, and then complain about not enough spectators coming or something. He was a promoter.”

Gossage had worked for Miller Brewing Co. in motorsports management before joining Speedway Motorsports in 1989. He was still a young public relations director three years later when, during a news conference to promote NASCAR’s rst nighttime All-Star race — appropriately billed “One Hot Night” — one of his stunts literally set Smith’s hair on re.

Smith was tasked with throwing a giant light switch rigged by Gossage to highlight the speedway’s new lighting system. But it shorted out and sparks ew, and Gossage once recalled, “I thought I was headed for the unemployment line for sure.”

“But for some reason, Bruton kept me around,” Gossage said several years ago, “and it wasn’t long after that he gave me an opportunity I could have only dreamed of.”

Smith had begun buying land in North Texas, and he sent Gossage from Charlotte to Fort Worth in 1995 to oversee the project as general manager. Texas Motor Speedway opened two years later for its rst NASCAR race, and soon it became one of the premier entertainment facilities in the country, along with a centerpiece of the Speedway Motorsports portfolio.

The 1,500-acre complex includes

Motor Speedway

President Eddie Gossage gives a tour at the track in 2014. Gossage, an old-school promoter mentored by stock car racing pioneers, died at the age of 65.

the 1.5-mile superspeedway, 194 luxury suites, 76 condominiums, a nine-story Speedway Club, o ce space and the 11,000-seat Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track. When he announced his retirement in 2021, Gossage said his approach sometimes borrowed from boxing promoters Bob Arum and Don King — and that his ideas were sometimes outrageous. But his intentions were always for the best interest of the fans, the racing and the speedway, and that is why so many remembered him so fondly on Friday.

“Eddie Gossage was a consummate promoter whose outside-the-box ideas helped engage fans across the country,” NASCAR said in a statement Friday. “He was truly passionate about motorsports and always looking for the next great idea to bring new fans to the sport and keep them entertained at the racetrack.”

Funeral arrangements were pending. Survivors include Gossage’s wife, Melinda, a daughter, son and three grandchildren.

“Each day I come to work, I see the impact he had throughout our property,” Texas Motor Speedway general manager Mark Faber said. “Eddie laid a foundation for success to build upon for generations to come and made Texas Motor Speedway a showplace of which Texans will always be proud.”

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

Chandler Welsh

R.J. Reynolds, track and eld

Chandler Welsh is a senior on the R.J. Reynolds girls’ track and eld team.

The future NC State Wolfpack runner has had a dominant senior year in high school. She was runner-up at the NCHSAA 4A state cross-country meet in the fall and nished third in the indoor state 4A championships in the 3,200-meter in February.

Now, the outdoor track and eld season is winding down, and Welsh continues to rack up accolades. She won the Central Piedmont Conference title in the 3,200 and became the 4A regional champion in the 3,200 two weekends ago. Last weekend, she competed in the 3,200 in the state 4A meet and took the title with a state-best time of 10:41.57.

Florida State asks the NCAA to reduce, rescind penalties on its football program

The Seminoles are accused of violating NIL rules

By Mark Long The Associated Press

FLORIDA STATE has asked the NCAA to reduce and rescind penalties imposed on its football program for NIL-related recruiting violations after the sanctioning body halted investigations into booster-backed collectives.

FSU’s legal counsel sent a three-page letter to Kay Norton, chairperson of the Division I Committee on Infractions, and requested the committee amend its decision. The letter, dated April 24 and shared with The Associated Press on Friday, referred to NIL-related cases involving Tennessee and Florida.

“The university is now disadvantaged by its cooperations and a rmative steps to expedite resolution of the case,” the letter read. “Similar or more egregious violations involving prospective student-athletes and other institutions’ collectives/boosters occurred during the same time period as the violations in the FSU case and some of those violations were being actively investigated and processed.

“Those institutions stand to bene t from the ‘pause’ in the enforcement of shifting NCAA Policy and related legislation — including the postponement of corresponding penalties or, po-

REBECCA BLACKWELL / AP PHOTO

Florida State head coach Mike Norvell claps during warm ups for the Orange Bowl in December. Norvell and the Seminoles could face NCAA penalties for NIL-related violations.

tentially, the complete dissolution of an infractions case — because those investigations began at a later date, were more complex, and/or those institutions elected to obfuscate or prolong an investigation.”

Attorneys argued that the scope of the preliminary injunction as it applies to “enforcement” is unclear and said the NCAA has “provided scant guid-

ance to the membership on that topic other than to advise that it is pausing current enforcement investigations.”

“FSU cannot be the only institution penalized simply because it was rst in the queue, the violations for which it is responsible were more limited, and it cooperated fully to resolve its case,” the letter read. The penalties are the result

of a rule-breaking incident that happened in April 2022, when an assistant coach drove a prospective student-athlete to a meeting with a booster. That was considered impermissible contact.

FSU agreed to two years of probation, a three-game suspension for the assistant — o ensive coordinator Alex Atkins — recruiting restrictions, a loss of scholarships and a ne equaling $5,000 plus 1% on the football program’s budget.

The Seminoles now want the penalties reduced. They believe they should not be ned the 1%, should not be docked a total of ve scholarships over the next two academic years and should not face any recruiting restrictions.

FSU said the COI “should deem certain penalties (or a degree of those penalties) unenforceable and unfair,” the letter said.

The NCAA in March stopped investigations into booster-backed collectives or other third parties making NIL compensation deals with Division I athletes. It came a week after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of Tennessee and Virginia. The antitrust suit challenged NCAA rules against recruiting inducements, saying they inhibit athletes’ ability to cash in on their celebrity and fame.

WELSH’S INSTAGRAM

RON T. ENNIS / AP PHOTO

Then-Texas

Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas

The victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid

By Stephen Whyno

The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas worked his way to Seize the Grey after his horse won the Preakness Stakes and kept getting interrupted by well-wishers o ering congratulations.

“I think they’re trying to get rid of me,” Lukas said. “They probably want me to retire. I

don’t think that’ll happen.” Not when the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer keeps winning big-time races. Seize the Grey ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid Saturday by going wire to wire to win the Preakness, giving Lukas his seventh victory in the race, one short of the record held by good friend Bob Ba ert.

“I’m only one behind him — I warned him already,” Lukas said. “It never gets old at this level, and I love the competition. I love to get in here with the rest of them.”

The strapping grey colt took advantage of the muddy track

just as Lukas hoped he would, pulling o the upset in a second consecutive impressive start two weeks after romping in a race on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Going o at 9-1 as one of the longest shots on the board, Seize the Grey moved to the lead immediately out of the starting gate and never looked back, nishing 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mystik Dan in 1:56.82.

“I thought his action down the backside was beautiful, and I knew that he was handling the track,” Lukas said. “I said, ‘Watch out, he’s not going to quit.’”

Mystik Dan nished second

in the eld of eight horses running in the $2 million, 1 3/16mile race.

“My colt’s a fantastic colt and proud of him,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”

Seize the Grey was a surprise Preakness winner facing tougher competition than in the Pat Day Mile on May 4. Though given the Lukas connection, it should never be a surprise when one of his horses is covered in a blanket of Black-Eyed Susan owers.

No one in the race’s 149-year history has saddled more horses in the Preakness than Lukas with 48 since debuting in 1980

and winning that one with Codex. He had two in this time, with Just Steel nishing fth.

Seize the Grey paid $21.60 to win, $8.40 to place and $4.40 to show. Mystik Dan paid $4.20 and $2.80 after nishing a head in front of thirdplace Catching Freedom, who paid $3.20 to show.

Mystik Dan was the 2-1 favorite, but he and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. could not replicate their perfect Derby trip to win that race’s rst three-way photo nish since 1947. Instead, Jaime Torres rode Seize the Grey to a win in his rst Triple Crown race of any kind, just two years after starting to ride.

“I have no words,” said Torres, a native of Puerto Rico who did not begin racing until seeing it on TV in late 2019. “I’m very excited, very excited and very thankful to all the people that have been behind me, helping me.”

Brissett embracing role of mentor during 2nd stint as quarterback with New England

The former Wolfpack QB will mentor former Tar Heel Drake Maye

By Kyle Hightower

The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. —

Jacoby Brissett had no expectations the rst time he walked into the New England Patriots’ training facility in 2016 as a wide-eyed, 23-year-old rookie quarterback.

A third-round pick, he was joining a team that had a fourtime Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Tom Brady at the time and an entrenched backup in Jimmy Garoppolo.

Brissett didn’t know if he’d even make the roster.

“Third-string quarterback my rookie year. Took no reps at training camp or (organized team activities) with the rst team. And Week 2 I’m in the game versus the Dolphins,” Brissett recalled on Thursday.

“You never know when your opportunity is going to come.

You’ve just got to ready.”

Brissett couldn’t have predicted that Brady would begin that 2016 season by serving a four-game suspension as part of his “De ategate” punishment, or that Garoppolo would be injured in the second game of the season against Miami, thrusting him into the starting job for two games. But Brissett’s point is clear.

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass at practice, during the 2016 season. One thing Brissett has learned during his eight-year NFL career is to maximize opportunity. That is how he is approaching his second stint with the Patriots.

stu like that,” Brissett said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He can make all the throws.”

After being traded to Indianapolis by the Patriots in 2017, Brissett spent four years with the Colts and had one-year stops in Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

He’s appeared in 79 games with 48 starts along the way, growing into a respected veteran in the league. It comes with lessons that he feels will be helpful to a young quarterback such as Maye.

“He wants to learn football. He wants to get better,” Brissett said. “That’s what you want. Not only in your quarterback but anybody on the team. I’m excited to work with him.”

Brissett is equally excited about rekindling his relationship with o ensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who served the same role in Cleveland when Brissett was there in 2022 and started for the Browns while Deshaun Watson served his 11game NFL suspension.

A chance to impact a team can come at any time. And that’s exactly how the now-31-year-old is approaching his latest stop in New England. With the one-year, $8 million free-agent deal he signed with the Patriots in March, Brissett joins a quarterback room in which he’s largely viewed as a transition player while rstround pick and former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye develops.

Lucky for the Patriots, Maye and Brissett already have some familiarity with one another.

Brissett and Maye share a mutual friend in Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell. Maye and Howell both played at North Carolina, and Howell and Brissett were teammates on the Commanders last season. All three spent time together last summer. Since nding out they’d both be joining the Patriots, Maye and Brissett have gotten to know each other better.

“He’s already texting me about plays and how do I think about this and cadence and

“I’m just going to be myself. I have no ego in this,” Brissett said. “I’m 31 now. I’ve matured as a man, as a football player and learned from those experiences that I’ve had throughout my career. I’ve been fortunate to play along or play beside a lot of really good quarterbacks and a lot of good coaches. The things that I’ve learned hopefully will continue to propel my career.”

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP PHOTO

JULIO CORTEZ / AP PHOTO

Jaime Torres, atop Seize The Grey, crosses the nish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course.

What’s

next for Iran’s government after its

Ebrahim Raisi died

in a helicopter crash Sunday

By Joseph Krauss

The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — The death of Iran’s president is unlikely to lead to any immediate changes in Iran’s ruling system or to its overarching policies, which are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday, was seen as a prime candidate to succeed the 85-year-old supreme leader, and his death makes it more likely that the job could eventually go to Khamenei’s son.

A hereditary succession would pose a potential crisis of legitimacy for the Islamic Republic, which was established as an alternative to monarchy but which many Iranians already see as a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

Here’s a look at what comes next.

How does Iran’s government work?

Iran holds regular elections for president and parliament with universal su rage.

But the supreme leader has nal say on all major policies, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The supreme leader also appoints half of the 12-member Guardian Council, a clerical body that vets candidates for president, parliament and the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of jurists in charge of choosing the supreme leader.

president’s death?

In theory, the clerics oversee the republic to ensure it complies with Islamic law. In practice, the supreme leader carefully manages the ruling system to balance competing interests, advance his own priorities and ensure that no one challenges the Islamic Republic or his role atop it.

Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a protege of Khamenei, was elected president in 2021 after the Guardian Council blocked any other well-known candidate from running against him, and turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic. He succeeded Hassan Rouhani, a

relative moderate who had served as president for the past eight years and defeated Raisi in 2017.

After Raisi’s death, in accordance with Iran’s constitution, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, a relative unknown, became caretaker president, with elections mandated within 50 days. That vote will likely be carefully managed to produce a president who maintains the status quo.

That means Iran will continue to impose some degree of Islamic rule and crack down on dissent. It will enrich uranium, support armed groups across the Middle

East and view the West with deep suspicion. What does this mean for succession?

Presidents come and go, some more moderate than others, but each operates under the structure of the ruling system.

If any major change occurs in Iran, it is likely to come after the passing of Khamenei, when a new supreme leader will be chosen for only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Khamenei succeeded the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

The next supreme leader will be chosen by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who are elected every eight years from candidates vetted by the Guardian Council. In the most recent election, in March, Rouhani was barred from running, while Raisi won a seat.

Any discussion of the succession, or machinations related to it, occur far from the public eye, making it hard to know who may be in the running. But the two people seen by analysts as most likely to succeed Khamenei were Raisi and the supreme leader’s own son, Mojtaba, 55, a Shiite cleric who has never held government o ce.

What happens if the supreme leader’s son succeeds him?

Leaders of the Islamic Republic going back to the 1979 revolution have portrayed their system as superior, not only to the democracies of a decadent West, but to the military dictatorships and monarchies that prevail across the Middle East.

The transfer of power from the supreme leader to his son could spark anger, not only among Iranians who are critical of clerical rule but supporters of the system who might see it as un-Islamic. Western sanctions linked to the nuclear program have devastated Iran’s economy. And the enforcement of Islamic rule, which grew more severe under Raisi, has further alienated women and young people.

The Islamic Republic has faced several waves of popular protests in recent years, most recently after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly not covering her hair in public. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 were detained in a violent crackdown. Raisi’s death may make the transition to a new supreme leader trickier, and it could spark more unrest.

Assange wins right to appeal extradition to United States

The 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder is wanted on espionage charges

By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless

The Associated Press

LONDON — WikiLeaks

founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.

High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. gov-

ernment provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.

Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classi ed U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.

Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.

Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S.

should “read the situation” and drop the case.

“As a family we are relieved, but how long can this go on?” she said. “This case is shameful, and it is taking an enormous toll on Julian.”

The Australian computer expert has spent the last ve years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.

American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and

military les that WikiLeaks published.

Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “ agrant denial of justice.”

The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classi ed government documents.

The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over

Assange’s claim that by releasing the con dential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.

IRANIAN FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OFFICE VIA AP

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, right, now acting president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leads a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Monday.

KIN CHEUNG / AP PHOTO

A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London on Monday. A British court ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.

STATE & NATION

Last student who helped integrate the UNC’s undergraduate body dies

Ralph Kennedy Frasier died May 8 at age 85

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — Ralph Kennedy Frasier, the nal surviving member of a trio of African American youths who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill in the 1950s, has died.

Frasier, who had been in declining health over the past several months, died May 8 at age 85 at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida, according to son Ralph Frasier Jr. A memorial service was scheduled for Saturday in Columbus, Ohio, where Frasier spent much of his working career.

Frasier, his older brother LeRoy, and John Lewis Brandon — all Durham high school classmates — fought successfully against Jim Crow laws when they were able to attend UNC in the fall of 1955. LeRoy Frasier died in late 2017, with Brandon following weeks later.

Initially, the Hillside High

School students’ enrollment applications were denied even though the UNC law school had been integrated a few years earlier. The landmark Brown vs. Board of Education decision that outlawed segregation happened in 1954. The trustee board of UNC — the nation’s oldest public university — then passed a resolution

barring the admission of blacks as undergraduates. The students sued and a federal court ordered they be admitted. The ruling ultimately was a rmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The trio became plainti s, in part, because their families were insulated from nancial retribution — the brothers’ parents

worked for black-owned North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Durham, for example. The brothers were 14 months apart in age, but Ralph started his education early.

After the legal victory, it still was not easy being on campus.

In an interview at the time of his brother’s death, Frasier recalled that the school’s golf course and the university-owned Carolina Inn were o -limits. At football games, they were seated in a section with custodial workers, who were black. The three lived on their own oor of a section of a dormitory.

“Those days were probably the most stressful of my life,” Frasier told The Associated Press in 2010 when the three visited Chapel Hill to be honored. “I can’t say that I have many happy memories.”

The brothers studied three years at Chapel Hill before Ralph left for the Army and LeRoy for the Peace Corps. Attending UNC “was extremely tough on them. They were tired,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said this week in an interview.

The brothers later graduated from North Carolina Central

Court: Drone pilot can’t o er mapping without NC surveyor’s license

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a trial court’s decision

By Gary D. Robertson

The Associated Press

RALEIGH — A North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate a drone photography pilot’s constitutional rights when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday.

The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding a trial court’s decision, found the free-speech protections of Michael Jones and his 360 Virtual Drone Services business weren’t violated by the state’s requirement for a license to o er surveying services.

The litigation marked an emerging con ict between technology disrupting the handson regulated profession of surveying. A state license requires educational and technical experience, which can include examinations and apprenticeships.

Jones sought to expand his drone pilot career by taking composite images that could assist construction companies and others with bird’s-eye views of their interested tracts of land. The North Carolina Board of Examiners for Engineers and Surveyors began investigating his activities in late 2018.

A federal appeals court agreed that a North Carolina board that regulates land surveyors didn’t violate the constitutional rights of drone photographer Michael Jones, pictured in 2021 in Goldsboro, when it told him to stop advertising and o ering aerial map services because he lacked a state license.

The board wrote to Jones in June 2019 and ordered him to stop engaging in “mapping, surveying and photogrammetry; stating accuracy; providing location and dimension data; and producing orthomosaic maps, quantities and topographic information.” Performing surveying work without a license can subject someone to civil and criminal liability. By then, Jones had placed a

disclaimer on his website saying the maps weren’t meant to replace proper surveys needed for mortgages, title insurance and land-use applications.

He stopped trying to develop his mapping business but remained interested in returning to the eld in the future, according to Monday’s opinion. So he sued board members in 2021 on First Amendment grounds.

U.S. District Judge Louise

Flanagan sided with the board members last year, determining that the rules withstood scrutiny because they created a generally applicable licensing system that regulated primarily conduct rather than speech.

Circuit Judge Jim Wynn, writing Monday’s unanimous opinion by the three-member panel, said determining whether such a business prohibition crosses over to a signi cant

University in Durham, a historically black college. LeRoy Frasier worked as an English teacher for many years in New York. Brandon got his degrees elsewhere and worked in the chemical industry.

Frasier also obtained a law degree at N.C. Central, after which began a long career in legal services and banking, rst with Wachovia and later Huntington Bancshares in Columbus.

Ralph Frasier was proud of promoting racial change in the Columbus business community and by serving on a committee that helped put two black jurists on the federal bench, his son said.

Relationships with UNC improved, leading to the 2010 campus celebration of their pioneering e orts, and scholarships were named in their honor.

Still, Ralph Frasier Jr. said it was disappointing to see the current UNC Chapel Hill trustee board vote this week to recommend diverting money from diversity programs for next year.

“It’s almost a smack in the face and a step backwards in time,” Ralph Frasier Jr. said. The action comes as the UNC system’s Board of Governors will soon decide whether to rework its diversity policy for the 17 campuses statewide.

Frasier’s survivors include his wife of 42 years, Jeannine Marie Quick-Frasier; six children, 14 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

speech restriction can be dicult.

“Even where a regulation is in fact aimed at professional conduct, States must still be able to articulate how the regulation is su ciently drawn to promote a substantial state interest,” Wynn said.

In this case, he wrote, it’s important that people can rely on surveyors to provide accurate maps. And there’s no evidence that the maps that Jones wants to create would constitute “unpopular or dissenting speech,” according to Wynn.

“There is a public interest in ensuring there is an incentive for individuals to go through that rigorous process and become trained as surveyors,” he wrote, adding the licensing law “protects consumers from potentially harmful economic and legal consequences that could ow from mistaken land measurements.”

Sam Gedge, an attorney at the Institute for Justice rm representing Jones, said Monday that he and his client want to further appeal the case, whether through the full 4th Circuit, based in Richmond, Virginia, or at the U.S. Supreme Court. Monday’s ruling says “the state can criminalize sharing certain types of photos without a government-issued license. And it does so on the theory that such a law somehow does not regulate ‘speech,’” Gedge wrote in an email. “That reasoning is badly awed. Taking photos and providing information to willing clients is speech, and it’s fully protected by the First Amendment.”

Joining Wynn — a former North Carolina appeals court judge — in Monday’s opinion were Circuit Judges Steven Agee and Stephanie Thacker.

RUDOLPH FAIRCLOTH / AP PHOTO

Ralph Frasier, right, the nal surviving member of a trio of black students who were the rst to desegregate the undergraduate student body at UNC Chapel Hill, died May 8 at age 85 in Florida.

GERRY BROOME / AP PHOTO

the stream

Kravitz releases rst full-length album in six years

“The Blue Angels,” premiering on Amazon, spotlights the daring U.S. Navy pilots who have thrilled air show audiences since 1946

The Associated Press

IF YOU’RE LOOKING for something new for your devices, there’s plenty of music, TV, movies and video games coming to your screens this week. Lenny Kravitz will drop his rst record in six years, “South Park,” mocks weight loss drugs and Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” has hit the streaming service Max. Music documentary fans also have a lot to look forward to with Peter Jackon’s “The Beach Boys” on Disney + and “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” about Stax Records on Max.

MOVIES TO STREAM

The spice is owing on Max after Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune: Part Two” hit the streaming service on Tuesday. The lm continues the saga of Paul Atreides as he learns the ways of the desert-dwelling Fremen following his father’s death in “Part One.” It’s also a decidedly more action-packed spectacle than the rst lm, introducing a slew of new characters, including the demonic Feyd Rautha, played by Austin Butler. In his review, AP lm writer Jake Coyle wrote that “Like its predecessor, ‘Dune: Part Two’ thrums with an intoxicating big-screen expressionism of monoliths and mosquitos, fevered visions and messianic fervor — more dystopian dream, or nightmare, than a straightforward narrative.” A di erent kind of eye-popping spectacle will also be available Thursday on Prime Video in “The Blue Angels,” a documentary about the daring U.S. Navy pilots who have thrilled air show audiences since 1946. Produced by J.J. Abrams and “Top Gun: Maverick” star Glen Powell, lmmaker Paul Crowder got unprecedented access to the pilots on the ground and in the air to give audiences a front-row seat. Stunts were lmed using a helicopter and mounted IMAX-certi ed camera — it was the rst civilian aircraft allowed to y in their per -

formance airspace — unlike in “Top Gun: Maverick,” there was no staging or second takes. The ever-proli c Jennifer Lopez already has another movie on the way in the sciaction pic “Atlas,” debuting Friday on Net ix. She plays the titular character, a data analyst who must learn to trust AI to save humanity. Lopez has said that, at its core, it’s a love story. “Atlas” was directed by “San Andreas” helmer Brad Peyton.

MUSIC TO STREAM

Lenny Kravitz is back with his rst full-length album in six years: “Blue Electric Light.” (The album follows 2018’s “Raise Vibration.”) It is a testament to his status as one of the last remaining true rock stars, evident from the moment he released the album’s lead single, “TK421.” Last year, Kravitz described the album as “the album I didn’t make in my teens” to The Associated Press. You’ve seen nearly all eight hours of Peter Jackson’s Beatles documentary “Get Back” on Disney+. Now, prepare for a denitive documentary on Amer -

ica’s band, the Beach Boys, on the same platform starting Friday. (Let the spirited rivalry continue!) Appropriately titled “The Beach Boys,” this doc boasts never-before-seen footage and all-new interviews with members Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, David Marks and Bruce Johnston.

At the epicenter of Memphis’ music scene in the ’50s and ’60s was Stax Records, home to Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Staple Singers and many others; a funk, R&B and soul label that celebrated interracial creative endeavors at a point in American history when doing so was life-threatening. “Stax: Soulsville, U.S.A.” started streaming Monday on Max.

“The Tuba Thieves,” out Monday PBS’ app, is not about stealing tubas. Well, at least not completely: From 2011 through 2013, tubas started disappearing from high schools in Los Angeles. Filmmaker Alison O’Daniel, who identi es as deaf/hard of hearing, used these thefts as a jumping-o point in her experimental work, which attempts to understand the role of sound

in our lives. That’s music to anyone’s ears.

SHOWS TO STREAM

Has chef Gordon Ramsay met his match in season two of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars?” He faces o against fellow Brit, restaurateur and reality TV star Lisa Vanderpump to nd fresh talent in the food and beverage industry. They each lead teams of contestants who compete in various challenges, and the winner gets $250,000 toward their brand. It’s like “Shark Tank” meets “The Voice” meets “The Apprentice.” Season two debuted Wednesday on Fox. The series also streams on Hulu, Tubi, and Fox.com. Shay Mitchell, best known for the original “Pretty Little Liars” series, is serious about her love of travel. She hosts her travel show on Max but with a twist. “Thirst with Shay Mitchell” is about seeking out beverages unique to each area and soaking up local culture. Mitchell is game to try it all one sip at a time.

“South Park” has never shied away from poking fun at hot-button topics. In a new spe -

cial, weight loss drugs are all the rage in South Park. The kids get involved when Cartman is denied access. “South Park: The End of Obesity” streams Friday on Paramount+.

“My Adventures with Superman” is back for season two on Adult Swim on Saturday. Jack Quaid voices Clark Kent/Superman as a young man who is roommates with his best friend, Jimmy Olson, played by Ishmel Sahid. Alice Lee voices Lois Lane. The lighthearted take on the DC Comics hero also streams on Max.

VIDEO GAMES TO PLAY Paper Trail also follows a young woman trying to make her way in the world, but it’s a much less stressful journey. Paige lives in a comfy home with loving parents, but it’s time to go to college. The road isn’t always straightforward, but Paige has a unique talent: She can treat her environment like paper, folding it to reconnect broken pathways. The result, from British studio Newfangled Games, is a series of colorful, 2D mazes with charming graphics that look handcrafted.

MARCO UGARTE / AP PHOTO

Lenny Kravitz new album, “Blue Electric Light,” comes out this week.

AMAZON / AP PHOTO

“The Blue Angels” is available this week on Amazon Prime.

MOORE COUNTY

Shower time

The Union Pines lacrosse team gives coach Daniel Proud a celebratory Gatorade (or water, it seems) bath after wrapping up an undefeated season and winning its rst state title. For more on the big win, turn to Page 4.

WHAT’S HAPPENING

Malfunctioning tra c lights to become all-way stops

NCDOT is updating the state’s tra c signals so they will ash red in every direction following an equipment failure or something else that disrupts normal operation. Currently, a malfunctioning signal ashes yellow on the main corridor and red on smaller roads.

As drivers approach an intersection that is malfunctioning, the red ashing light should be treated as a stop sign.

NCDOT has more than 9,000 signalized intersections across the state, including those operated by municipal agreements in several cities. The department will phase in this change over the next year as part of the preventative maintenance it already conducts on tra c signals.

NCWRC warns:

Don’t feed the bears!

The N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission is reminding North Carolinians that the state’s bear population continues to grow, and, with human-bear interactions increasing, to make sure never to feed or approach bears and to make sure bird feeders and garbage are secure.

Perhaps more important is advice to never handle, attempt to catch, or feed bear cubs — even if they appear to be alone. Mother bears will frequently temporarily leave their cubs in a safe place but remain nearby and could defend their cubs or, worse, abandon them after interactions with humans.

For more on black bears, visit bearwise.org

Moore Board of Education removes some student fees

One board member felt the changes didn’t go far enough

By Ryan Henkel North State Journal

THE MOORE COUNTY Schools Board of Education approved changes to the student fee schedule in its May 13 meeting.

The changes remove middle and high school “other semester courses” and “math” fees, as well as enacting a decrease in the daycare tuition for 2024-25.

Board member David Hensley wanted to remove graduation and science fees as well:

“You tax what you don’t want and you reinforce what you do want and we want our students to graduate and we want our students to take math classes,” Hensley said. “But we punish

them with a tax. We can say, ‘Oh, it’s only $10 bucks, who cares?’ but we should be paying our students to take science. We should be paying them to graduate. I don’t care if it’s $10 or $100 or $10,000. It’s not right.”

But Hensley’s motion was voted down due to the fact that the district would somehow have to nd a replacement for that funding.

“Eventually, we’d probably ought to get rid of a bunch of these fees but it needs to be in the budgeting process,” Levy said.

In other business, the board approved a one-year extension of the retainer agreement with Schwartz Law PLLC for the provision of legal services for the Moore County Schools Board of Education, though Hensley had concerns over the increased cost for legal fees.

“Our legal fees have more than

Civil rights complaint led against Moore Public Schools

The complaint is tied to N.C.’s Parents’ Bill of Rights

By A.P. Dillon North State Journal

RALEIGH — Two activist groups have led a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s O ce of Civil Rights alleging discrimination over Moore County Schools’ implementation of North Carolina’s new Parents’ Bill of Rights (PBR) law. That law was enacted by the General Assembly on August 16, 2023, after both legislative chambers overrode Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 49. After the PBR was enacted,

the Moore County Board of Education adopted an amendment to its Comprehensive Health Education Program policy on November 6, 2023. The amendment included a prohibition on “instruction on sexual activity or sexuality” in Kindergarten through fourth grade. The policy also stated: “The subject of gender identify [sic] and gender uidity shall not be taught in Moore County Schools.” [Page 138]

“We are parents, school faculty, and community members in one of many counties dealing with SB49 which was passed by the State of North Carolina legislators last year,” the complaint led by PFLAG Southern Pines and Moore County Public School Advocates (PSA) states.

doubled in the last two years,” Hensley said. “That illustrates three things. One is it highlights that we have plenty of dollars to cover unexpected expenses. Two, it shows that we need to monitor budget execution. Finally, a large portion of our legal expenses are spent on EC and IEP related issues, and we need to see if we can get reimbursed for those because we’re supposed to get 100% reimbursement on EC issues if it’s a necessary legal expense.”

Hensley said he had gone through a six-year analysis of all the past legal fees and brought up concerns over unknown MOUs with various organizations and legal opinions and board requests made without the full knowledge of the board.

“I think Mr. Schwartz has done a great job,” Hensley said. “That’s not the issue. The issue is, we need to get this spending under

In a statement, a Moore County Schools spokesperson said “our legal counsel will address the OCR Complaint” and acknowledged receiving a copy of the complaint from PFLAG, though said it had not yet heard from the Department of Education.

PFLAG is a shortened version of its original name, “Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays.” PFLAG is a national nonpro t with 400 chapters focused on LGBT advocacy and topics like gender identity. The group was formed in 1973.

PSA is a Moore County organization that has 213 followers on its public Facebook page and operates a private Facebook group of approximately 530 people. The group appeared on Facebook in early June 2022 with the purpose of “Sharing news and events surrounding public school advocacy in Moore County, NC.”

Included in the 180-page ling is a timeline of events, including unsuccessful attempts to engage with district representatives to gain clari cation following the Moore County School

control, we need to have board members review bills to nd ways we can get spending under control, we need to start monitoring our budget execution in all areas, not just legal bills, and going forward, I don’t want any attorney working for any individual member of a board when he works for the board equally.” Despite that, the board was unanimous in their approval of the extension.

“The bottom line is, the attorney is expensive,” said board chair Robert Levy. “But he keeps us out of litigation and his rm has done a damn good job in keeping us out of litigation.”

The board also approved an amendment to the FY 2023-24 budget, an increase of roughly $2,320,000 in response to allotment revisions, a $209,000 purchase of Eureka Math Squared textbooks and a $1,230,000 contract with Lomax Construction for HVAC replacement and renovation and a $230,000 contract with CCI Environmental Services for asbestos abatement, both at Pinckney Academy.

The board will next meet June 10.

Board passing Policy 5416, the “Parents Bill of Rights,” in last spring.

The complaint alleges the district’s policies barring instruction to students in grades K-4 on gender identity, sexual activity or sexuality are discriminatory and violate Title IX regulations.

The groups claim Moore County Schools is “discriminating by targeting LGBTQ+ content for censorship and removal from instruction, from the classroom and from libraries” and that the district is “creating a hostile educational environment.”

The broad allegations of discrimination by the groups arise from a single section of an See SCHOOLS , page 6

We stand corrected

To report an error or a suspected error, please email: corrections@nsjonline.com with “Correction request” in the subject line.

CRIME LOG

May 15

• Richard Wesley Grubb, 49 years old, was arrested on a warrant from the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

• Daniel Kenneth Plaud, 52 years old, was arrested for a warrant from the Wake County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of identity theft.

• Brandy Marie Scarboro, 40 years old, was arrested by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of assault by strangulation.

May 16

• Aaron Brent Lane, 38 years old, was arrested by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office on a charge of possessing drug paraphernalia.

• Mark Allen Niewald, 62 years old, was arrested by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office for a probation violation.

• Reggie Demond Revels, 41 years old, was arrested by the Southern Pines Police Department on a charge of failing to report new address as a sex offender.

• Alexander Malachi Strickland, 22 years old, was arrested by the Pinebluff Police Department on a charge of driving while impaired.

May 17

• Patrick Nicklaus Jonathon Armour, 26 years old, was arrested by the Pinehurst Police Department on a charge of larceny of a firearm.

• Jason Brian Davis, 45 years old, was arrested by the Pinehurst Police Department as a fugitive from another state awaiting extradition.

May 18

• Keyonte Pierre Burch, 32 years old, was arrested by the Moore County Sheriff’s Office for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

US 421 to become I-685 from Greensboro to Sanford

Upgrading the highway to interstate standards will take years

By Jordan Golson and PJ Ward-Brown Chatham News & Record

LIBERTY — State and local leaders gathered Monday in Randolph County to celebrate the designation of U.S. Highway 421 as the future Interstate 685. The event, held next to the under-construction Toyota Battery Manufacturing plant, featured the unveiling of new Future I-685 signs that will be going up along the route from Greensboro to Sanford.

“Today’s unveiling of the Future Interstate 685 sign is a true testament to the collaboration and teamwork that is fueling our economic momentum here in the Carolina Core,” said Loren Hill, Carolina Core Regional Economic Development Director, at the event. I-685 will eventually run from Interstate 85 to Interstate 95, improving connectivity and commerce across the region. According to N.C. Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins, upgrading US-421 to interstate standards will take place in phases over many years, coordinating with local governments. Two new interchanges are already under construction near the Toyota plant site and will open in the coming months. The future interstate is ex-

PJ WARD-BROWN / NORTH STATE JOURNAL

N.C. Transportation Board member Lisa Mathis and Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins stand next to a Future I-685 sign.

pected to be a major draw for new businesses to locate in the area. “One of the main things (businesses) look for is the transportation network,” said Hopkins. “They all want to be adjacent to or near an interstate.”

Designating US-421 as a future interstate has been a key initiative spearheaded by the Piedmont Triad Partnership since launching the Carolina Core brand in 2018 for the region anchored by Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point and Fayetteville. The region has seen $20 billion in investment and 50,000 new jobs announced in recent years from companies around the world.

U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis and former Sen. Richard Burr were in-

strumental in getting congressional approval for the future interstate in 2021. Regional leaders are now seeking an additional future interstate designation for US-421 north of Winston-Salem.

The Toyota battery plant and Wolfspeed semiconductor factory, both under construction a few miles apart, represent some of the biggest economic development projects in the state, bringing thousands of jobs and billions in investment to the region.

“This is really the heart of that interstate,” said Randolph County Commissioner Darrell Frye. “We’re just ripe for future opportunities like this,” added Hopkins.

moore happening

Here’s a quick look at what’s coming up in and around Moore County:

May 24

Hamlet Lions Club: Spring Carnival 1 – 10 p.m.

Enjoy the Spring Carnival at the Hamlet Lions Club! There will be fun rides for all ages, vendors, games, music and food! The carnival takes place at Hamlet Lions Club, located at 106 Louis Breeden Blvd. from Thursday, May 23 through Sunday, May 26.

Carthage Farmers Market

1 – 5 p.m.

Come out and support your local farmers at the farmers market in Carthage. Located on South Ray in the parking lot across from the post o ce street, the market features fresh seasonal produce, meats, eggs and handmade goods. (The market is held 1 – 5 p.m. each Friday year-round.) For more information visit the Carthage Farmers Market page on Facebook.

2024 Sandhills Motoring Expo: “The Road Rally” 5 p.m. – 9 p.m.

The Fire Grant helps local departments with funding to purchase equipment

By Ena Sellers North State Journal

THE NORTH Carolina Ofce of State Fire Marshal announced the recipients of the 2024 Volunteer Fire Department Fund, also known as Fire Grant, on May 15.

Two departments in Moore County received more than $14,000 between them. Eastwood Fire was awarded $11,200 and Westmoore Fire received $3,068. The money will go towards new equipment and must be paired with matching funds.

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities

“Fire and rescue organizations protect our communities

large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities.”

State Fire Marshal Brian Taylor

large and small across North Carolina, but sometimes their budgets don’t grow with their responsibilities,” stated Brian Taylor, State Fire Marshal in the announcement. “Our emergency service personnel should be supported with the best equip-

ment and supplies needed to do their jobs correctly and safely.”

The letters notifying each re department of the grant award and thanking them for their hard work and dedication were sent last week.

According to the OSFM these funds must be matched dollar-for-dollar for up to $40,000, unless the re department receives less than $50,000 per year from municipal and county funding, in which case the volunteer re department will need to match $1 for each $3 of grant funds. The grant award is administered through the NC Department of Insurance.

The Volunteer Fire Department Fund was created in 1988 by the General Assembly to help volunteer units raise funds for their re ghting equipment and supplies.

The Sandhills Motoring Expo is a favorite annual event of Moore County that takes place on Memorial Day weekend. The fun begins Friday, May 24 and runs through Sunday, May 26. On Friday, the SMF Block Party takes place at the Pine Crest Inn 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. Located in the heart of the Village of Pinehurst, this is a chance for all entrants and sponsors to come together for an informal car show. There will be a BBQ dinner and a live band at Pine Crest Inn.

May 25

Friends Of Aberdeen Library: Used Book Sale Bene t 9 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Come out for Summer

Used Book Sales at the Future Library Building, located at 123 Exchange St. in Aberdeen. Books Sales take place every Saturday throughout the summer with sales bene ting The Friends of Aberdeen Library. Funds collected will be put towards the e orts of our future Aberdeen Library.

THE CONVERSATION

Neal Robbins, publisher | Frank Hill, senior opinion editor

VISUAL VOICES

The

| SUSAN ESTRICH

prosecution has made its case

Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s. The big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case or whether the jury will accept it but whether it all will matter.

DID DONALD TRUMP falsify business records to cover up his payment of hush money to Stormy Daniels? Did he do it to hold onto women voters in the days leading up to the 2016 election?

Reading the daily press accounts of the New York trial leaves little doubt that the prosecution made its case.

Michael Cohen is a liar, convicted as one, but his testimony addressed and answered the key questions in the case. Daniels at one point denied having an a air with the former president, but she did not waver at the trial. Her account of her interaction with the former president was searing. The records were clear. Hush money is not a legal expense. Cohen did what he was told. Trump was fully on board. What more could you expect from the prosecution?

With closing arguments expected to come as soon as next week, the defense has yet to introduce an alternative narrative of what happened here.

There is no alternative narrative. They may claim it was all to protect his family, to shield Melania from embarrassment, but Hope Hicks made clear there was a political imperative. And who would believe that it was all for Melania? It was for Trump.

Even the most cynical of the talking heads acknowledged that over the course of the trial,

the chances of a conviction increased. The question, and it has always been the question, is to what end? Will the jury convict?

Juries like judges, and this one, by all reports, should command the greatest respect of the jurors. He has controlled the courtroom, been even-tempered and even-handed. The judge will read the instructions, inform the jury of the elements of the crime and ask them to apply the law to the facts they nd. It should not be di cult.

This is not a complex fact situation. It was a straightforward payo for an obvious purpose — and it worked, until it didn’t. If the jury does what the judge instructs them to, and there is no reason at this point to think they will not, it should not be di cult for them to reach a verdict.

Will they be swayed by the fact that they are convicting a former president?

It could happen, of course, but they have been sitting in a courtroom with him for over a month. He has, in all likelihood, been reduced to human size.

They’ve watched him squirm and smirk and struggle to stay awake.

Whatever kismet he brought to the room when they rst confronted him should have worn o by now. He is human-sized. Their job is straightforward, for all the historical footnotes.

No, the big question is not whether the prosecution has made its case — it has — or whether the jury will accept it — they should — but whether it all will matter. Signi cant numbers of voters have told pollsters that a criminal conviction will make them less likely to vote for Trump, but will it really? Will they simply accept this, as they did the E. Jean Carroll verdict, as yet another example of Trump being Trump? So he paid hush money to a woman with whom he had an exploitive sexual relationship. So he did it to try to protect himself in the presidential election. So he falsi ed it as legal expenses. So what? At what point is enough enough? At what point will people with morals and values be unwilling to compromise on a leader who is de cient on both scores? The parade of Republicans who have shown up at the courthouse to support Trump during this trial is a testament to the moral bankruptcy of the GOP. They should be ashamed of themselves. Only half in jest, they were willing to risk control of the House oor to get in line for the cameras and kiss the ring. Someday, hopefully, we will look back on all of this and wonder how so many people who should know better took temporary leave of their senses to stand by a man who does not deserve their support. But between now and then, the jurors and then the voters must decide.

The world’s — and the Pacific Rim’s — disastrous population implosion

WILL THE WORLD be better o with fewer people?

For years that has been a hypothetical question posed to suggest an a rmative answer. Fewer people, it was claimed, would mean less depredation of natural resources, less urban overcrowding, more room for other species to stretch their (actual or metaphorical) legs. Mankind was a parasite, a blight, and overpopulation a disease. Fewer people would mean a better Earth.

Not everyone has agreed. More people, argued the late economist Julian Simon, means more inventors, more innovators, more creators. Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father’s 17 children. Would America, and the world, have been better o if his father had stopped at 14?

More people also means more consumers and taxpayers. More consumers to pay for the goods and services of private-sector workers. More taxpayers to pay for, among other things, bene ts for the elderly and in rm.

Whatever you think, whether the world would be better o with fewer people is no longer a hypothetical or rhetorical question. It is, it seems, a question squarely presented, or just about to be presented, by reality.

“Sometime soon, the global fertility rate will drop below the point needed to keep population constant,” Greg Ip and Janet Adamy write in The Wall Street Journal. “It may have already happened.”

The global replacement rate, they point out, is 2.2 children per woman, with the 0.2 representing the children who do not grow into adulthood and the excess of boys over girls in countries where many parents abort female babies. Demographers have long noticed the world is heading toward 2.2 but expected it to take longer to get there. The United Nations pegged it at 2.5 in 2017. It fell to 2.3 in 2021, and incoming data suggest it’s declined signi cantly since then.

Previous traumatic events have produced higher birthrates, like America’s and eventually Europe’s post-World War II baby boom. But the COVID-19 pandemic, after an initial spike in births resembling ones occurring nine months after electricity blackouts, has produced even fewer births than pessimistic experts predicted.

Total world population won’t start falling immediately. One estimate is that world population, now about 8.1 billion, will peak at 9.6 billion in 2061. The fears that overpopulation would lead to mass starvation have proved unfounded, and population control e orts by the likes of the Rockefeller Foundation and Warren Bu ett have petered out.

As technology historian Vaclav Smil points out, the discovery in 1908 of the Haber-Bosch process for producing synthetic ammonia has led to food production that can feed the world’s current billions and many more.

Thomas Malthus, who in 1798 wrote that any population increase would result in famine and disease, is dead.

Today the negative e ects of subreplacement population growth are already being felt. Government pensions and elderly medical care are proving di cult to sustain in the United States and western Europe.

Economic growth seldom rises to pre-2000 levels because the labor force is growing little, or even shrinking.

More striking e ects are seen in East Asia, as set out by American Enterprise Institute scholar Nicholas Eberstadt for Foreign A airs. Even as Japan, South Korea and China boomed economically, their fertility rates fell below replacement — Japan in the 1970s, Korea in the 1980s, China in the 1990s.

Decades later, the result is that East Asia’s working-age cohort is now shrinking. By 2050, it will have more people over 80 than children under 15.

These countries, Eberstadt writes, “will nd it harder to generate economic growth, accumulate investments, and build wealth; to fund their safety nets; and to mobilize their armed forces.” China may not be able to amass huge armies to overcome the U.S. and its allies as it did in Korea in 1950. But Japan and South Korea will not be able to raise troops in numbers they once did. And will China attack Taiwan before its cohort of military-age men shrinks further?

“The long-heralded ‘Asian century’ may never truly arrive,” Eberstadt writes.

And on the other side of the Paci c Rim, between 2020 and 2023, California’s population fell by 538,000, or 1.4%. This is a reversal of more than 150 years of above-U.S.average growth and despite the state’s physical climate and beautiful scenery.

This astonishing trend owes much to dreadful public policies that have incentivized modest-income people with families, including immigrants, to move out, even though California still attracts highly skilled college graduates from “back East.” But how many children will they produce? Will a declining-in-fertility America produce enough o spring to replenish Silicon Valley and Hollywood?

Absent a horri c military clash, the Paci c Rim that has produced so much innovation seems about to settle into an increasingly uncomfortable, hardscrabble and uncreative old age, with no gaggles of nephews, nieces, grandchildren and cousins who give hope that things will keep improving.

Not the paradise the population control people promised.

Michael Barone is a senior political analyst for the Washington Examiner, resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and longtime co-author of “The Almanac of American Politics.”

COLUMN

COLUMN | MICHAEL BARONE

MOORE SPORTS

Union Pines nishes unbeaten, wins state girls’ lacrosse title

North State Journal

SPRING SPORTS wrapped up with a rst school title for Union Pines girls’ lacrosse. Here’s a look at the playo roundup.

Girls’ lacrosse

Union Pines won the rst girls’ lacrosse state title in school history, nishing o a perfect 18-0 season. The Vikings had their biggest scare of the season in the state semi nals, trailing Croatan at the half before rallying for a 14-13 win. Ellie Powell had six goals and Janie Spicer ve in the comeback victory.

Union Pines then blew out Bishop McGuinness, 20-6, to win the 1A/2A/3A title. Powell had another six goals and Spicer three. The Vikings now move on without Spicer, fellow senior co-captains Madeline Hefner and Madison Aldrige and seniors Abby Robertson and Saeda Yoxtheimer.

Baseball

Pinecrest saw its season end in the round of eight in the the 4A bracket. The No. 4 seeded Patriots beat Laney, 6-1, in the third round, then fell to Ashley, 3-2, in extra innings, with a spot in the nal four on the line. Senior Bryant Kimbrell homered for Pinecrest in the win over Laney. In addition to Kimbrell, the team says goodbye to seniors Connor Tepatti, Josh Slade, Mason Konen, Dylan

Floyd, Addison Roth, Logan Besterman, Grayson Hudgins, Andrew Vandevander and James Vandevander.

Softball

Union Pines’ run ended in the third round of the 3A state playo s. The Vikings lost in extra innings to South Central, 8-7. Junior Elizabeth Andrews homered and drove in two runs while going 3-for-4 in a losing cause. The Vikings part ways with seniors Corryn McCutchen, Adelette Gutierrez, Nicole Norman, Natalie Auman, Kyleigh McNeill and Annaleese Renslow.

Girls’ soccer

North Moore posted a win in the 1A state playo s, upsetting Clover Garden School, 3-0. The season came to an end with a 5-2 loss to Woods Charter in the second round.

Pinecrest also got one playo win before facing elimination. The Patriots opened the 4A playo s with a 7-1 win over Pine Forest. Enloe beat them in the second round, however, 3-0. The team says farewell to seniors Ava Depenbrock, Gracie Reyes, Kamen Lewis, Mia Martin, Kaylee Thomas and Olivia Mixa.

Union Pines matched its two Moore County neighbors with one win in the playo s. The Vikings beat South Brunswick in the opener, 2-1, then fell to Dixon, 1-0, to end the season. That loss ended the high school

careers of seniors Riley Pittman, Abigail Phillips, Daryn Lee, Ella Walker, Abigail Robbins and Leah Morris. Track and eld

Several area athletes competed in the state track meet earlier this month. For North Moore, Justin Walker placed 16th in the triple jump and twelfth in high jump. Michael Copeland was 15th in the 110 hurdles prelims and took tenth in the 300 hurdles.

For Union Pines, the boys’ 4x100 relay team of Ethan Biggs, Caleb Milton, Roger Patterson and Zion Kiser took rst place. Jaydon Sterling was fourth in long jump and second in triple jump, Savannah McCaskill was 14th in girls’ high jump and Christian Hackett was ninth in boys’ high jump, Caroline Oakley was 11th in girls’ pole vault, Jack Binon was 13th in boys’ pole vault, Briana St. Louis was seventh in girls’ 400 and fourth in the 200, Milton and Kiser were 14th and 16th, respectively in 300 hurdles, Corbin Weeks was 14th and Monte Hay 15th in the boys’ 800, Biggs took eighth in the 200 and Allyson Flewwellin took tenth in the 3200. Weeks also took seventh in the 3200.

For Pinecrest, Ruby Rhyne placed 11th in pole vault, Keaton Pegues was 16th in the 100 prelims, Alessia Potts took fth in the 1600, Akeelah Knox was 15th in the 300 hurdles, Corinne McGuire took 13th in the 800 and a pair of relay teams placed in the top 10.

Union Pines girls’ lacrosse

Janie Spicer is a senior for the Union Pines’ girls’ lacrosse team. The Vikings won their rst state title and wrapped up an undefeated season. Spicer led the way winning NCHSAA Most Valuable Player honors after scoring three goals with four assists in the championship game. She also took the NCHSAA Sportsmanship Award. For the season, Spicer led Union Pines in shots on goal and was second in goals and assists. She also led the squad in ground balls and was second in turnovers forced.

SIDELINE REPORT

PGA

Arrest, 8th-place

nish in hectic weekend for Sche er

Louisville Scottie Sche er nished o what he called a “hectic” week at the PGA Championship by surging to an eighth-place nish. The world’s top-ranked golfer shot a 6-under 65 to nish at 13 under for the tournament. The round came two days after Sche er spent time in a Louisville jail following his arrest on charges stemming from a tra c incident. Sche er is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday. The 27-year-old Texan says he’s not sure what’s in store on the legal front in the near future and he’s mostly focused on getting home to his wife and newborn son.

GYMNASTICS

Biles shines in return to mat Hartford, Conn.

Simone Biles certainly looks ready for Paris with more than two months to go before the Olympic games begin. The gymnastics superstar began her bid for a third Olympic team looking as dominant as ever at the U.S. Classic. The 27-year-old Biles posted an all-around score of 59.500, nearly two points clear of runnerup Shilese Jones. Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic champion, saw her hopes for a career comeback at 28 take a hit. Douglas fell twice on uneven bars in her rst event and pulled out of the nal three rotations.

BOXING

Usyk beats Fury to become the rst undisputed heavyweight champion in 24 years Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Oleksandr Usyk defeated Tyson Fury by split decision to become the rst undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in 24 years. Usyk added Fury’s WBC title to his own WBA, IBF and WBO belts with a spectacular late rally highlighted by a ninthround knockdown in a backand-forth bout between two previously unbeaten heavyweight champs. Two judges favored Usyk, 115112 and 114-113, while the third gave it to Fury, 114-113. Usyk started quickly, but then had to survive while Fury dominated the middle rounds. Usyk rallied in the nal rounds.

MLB Bad Bunny sports agency sues baseball players’ union over ban, announces Acuña Jr. as client

New York Music star Bad Bunny’s sports representation rm sued the baseball players’ association Thursday, asking for a restraining order against the union that would allow it to keep working with the company’s clients. The agency also said it has added NL MVP Ronal Acuña Jr. as a client. Rimas Sports/ Diamond Sports LLC, sued in U.S. District Court in San Juan, Puerto Rico, accusing the Major League Baseball Players Association of violating Puerto Rico’s general tort claim and tortious interference with its contracts to represent players. The suit claimed the union’s actions blocked it from taking on Acuña as a client.

Seize the Grey wins the Preakness for D. Wayne Lukas

the Preakness, giving Lukas his seventh victory in the race, one short of the record held by good friend Bob Ba ert.

By Stephen Whyno

The Associated Press

BALTIMORE — D. Wayne Lukas worked his way to Seize the Grey after his horse won the Preakness Stakes and kept getting interrupted by well-wishers o ering congratulations.

“I think they’re trying to get rid of me,” Lukas said. “They probably want me to retire. I don’t think that’ll happen.”

Not when the 88-year-old Hall of Fame trainer keeps winning big-time races.

Seize the Grey ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid Saturday by going wire to wire to win

“I’m only one behind him — I warned him already,” Lukas said. “It never gets old at this level, and I love the competition. I love to get in here with the rest of them.”

The strapping grey colt took advantage of the muddy track just as Lukas hoped he would, pulling o the upset in a second consecutive impressive start two weeks after romping in a race on the Derby undercard at Churchill Downs. Going o at 9-1 as one of the longest shots on the board, Seize the Grey moved to the lead immediately out of the starting gate and never looked back, nishing 2 1/4 lengths ahead of Mystik Dan in 1:56.82.

“I thought his action down the backside was beautiful, and

I knew that he was handling the track,” Lukas said. “I said, ‘Watch out, he’s not going to quit.’” Mystik Dan nished second in the eld of eight horses running in the $2 million, 1 3/16mile race.

“My colt’s a fantastic colt and proud of him,” trainer Kenny McPeek said. “It just wasn’t his day, but he’ll live to race again.”

Seize the Grey was a surprise Preakness winner facing tougher competition than in the Pat Day Mile on May 4. Though given the Lukas connection, it should never be a surprise when one of his horses is covered in a blanket of Black-Eyed Susan owers.

No one in the race’s 149-year history has saddled more horses in the Preakness than Lukas with 48 since debuting in 1980 and winning that one with Codex. He had two in this time,

with Just Steel nishing fth.

Seize the Grey paid $21.60 to win, $8.40 to place and $4.40 to show. Mystik Dan paid $4.20 and $2.80 after nishing a head in front of third-place Catching Freedom, who paid $3.20 to show.

Mystik Dan was the 2-1 favorite, but he and jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. could not replicate their perfect Derby trip to win that race’s rst three-way photo nish since 1947. Instead, Jaime Torres rode Seize the Grey to a win in his rst Triple Crown race of any kind, just two years after starting to ride.

“I have no words,” said Torres, a native of Puerto Rico who did not begin racing until seeing it on TV in late 2019. “I’m very excited, very excited and very thankful to all the people that have been behind me, helping me.”

Brissett embracing role of mentor during his 2nd stint as quarterback with Patriots

The former Wolfpack QB will mentor former Tar Heel Drake Maye

By Kyle Hightower The Associated Press

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Jacoby Brissett had no expectations the rst time he walked into the New England Patriots’ training facility in 2016 as a wide-eyed, 23-year-old rookie quarterback.

A third-round pick, he was joining a team that had a fourtime Super Bowl-winning quarterback in Tom Brady at the time and an entrenched backup in Jimmy Garoppolo.

Brissett didn’t know if he’d even make the roster.

“Third-string quarterback my rookie year. Took no reps at training camp or (organized team activities) with the rst team. And Week 2 I’m in the game versus the Dolphins,” Brissett recalled on Thursday. “You never know when your opportunity is going to come. You’ve just got to ready.”

Brissett couldn’t have predicted that Brady would begin that 2016 season by serving a four-game suspension as part of his “De ategate” punishment, or that Garoppolo would be injured in the second game of the season against Miami, thrusting him into the starting job for two games. But Brissett’s point is clear.

this and cadence and stu like that,” Brissett said. “He’s got a lot of talent. He can make all the throws.”

After being traded to Indianapolis by the Patriots in 2017, Brissett spent four years with the Colts and had one-year stops in Miami, Cleveland and Washington.

He’s appeared in 79 games with 48 starts along the way, growing into a respected veteran in the league. It comes with lessons that he feels will be helpful to a young quarterback such as Maye.

“He wants to learn football. He wants to get better,” Brissett said. “That’s what you want. Not only in your quarterback but anybody on the team. I’m excited to work with him.”

A chance to impact a team can come at any time. And that’s exactly how the now-31-year-old is approaching his latest stop in New England. With the one-year, $8 million free-agent deal he signed with the Patriots in March, Brissett joins a quarterback room in which he’s largely viewed as a transition player while rstround pick and former North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye develops. Lucky for the Patriots, Maye and Brissett already have some

familiarity with one another. Brissett and Maye share a mutual friend in Seattle Seahawks quarterback Sam Howell. Maye and Howell both played at North Carolina, and Howell and Brissett were teammates on the Commanders last season. All three spent time together last summer. Since nding out they’d both be joining the Patriots, Maye and Brissett have gotten to know each other better.

“He’s already texting me about plays and how do I think about

Brissett is equally excited about rekindling his relationship with o ensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt, who served the same role in Cleveland when Brissett was there in 2022 and started for the Browns while Deshaun Watson served his 11-game NFL suspension.

“I’m just going to be myself. I have no ego in this,” Brissett said. “I’m 31 now. I’ve matured as a man, as a football player and learned from those experiences that I’ve had throughout my career. I’ve been fortunate to play along or play beside a lot of really good quarterbacks and a lot of good coaches. The things that I’ve learned hopefully will continue to propel my career.”

ELISE AMENDOLA / AP PHOTO

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) throws a pass at practice, during the 2016 season. One thing Brissett has learned during his eight-year NFL career is to maximize opportunity. That is how he is approaching his second stint with the Patriots.

The victory ended Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan’s Triple Crown bid

JULIO CORTEZ / AP PHOTO

Jaime Torres, atop Seize The Grey, crosses the nish line to win the Preakness Stakes horse race at Pimlico Race Course.

What’s next for Iran’s government after its president’s death?

By Joseph Krauss The Associated Press

JERUSALEM — The death of Iran’s president is unlikely to lead to any immediate changes in Iran’s ruling system or to its overarching policies, which are decided by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

But Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash Sunday, was seen as a prime candidate to succeed the 85-year-old supreme leader, and his death makes it more likely that the job could eventually go to Khamenei’s son.

A hereditary succession would pose a potential crisis of legitimacy for the Islamic Republic, which was established as an alternative to monarchy but which many Iranians already see as a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

Here’s a look at what comes next.

How does Iran’s government work?

Iran holds regular elections for president and parliament with universal su rage.

But the supreme leader has nal say on all major policies, serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and controls the powerful Revolutionary Guard.

The supreme leader also appoints half of the 12-member Guardian Council, a clerical body that vets candidates for president, parliament and the Assembly of Experts, an elected body of jurists in charge of choosing the supreme leader.

In theory, the clerics oversee the republic to ensure it complies with Islamic law. In practice, the supreme leader carefully manages the ruling system to balance competing interests, advance his own priorities and ensure that no one challenges the Islamic Republic or his role atop it. Raisi, a hard-liner who was seen as a protege of Khamenei, was elected president in 2021 after the Guardian Council blocked any other well-known candidate from running against him, and turnout was the lowest in the history of the Islamic Republic. He succeeded Hassan Rouhani, a

relative moderate who had served as president for the past eight years and defeated Raisi in 2017.

After Raisi’s death, in accordance with Iran’s constitution, Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, a relative unknown, became caretaker president, with elections mandated within 50 days. That vote will likely be carefully managed to produce a president who maintains the status quo. That means Iran will continue to impose some degree of Islamic rule and crack down on dissent. It will enrich uranium, support armed groups across the Middle

East and view the West with deep suspicion.

What does this mean for succession?

Presidents come and go, some more moderate than others, but each operates under the structure of the ruling system. If any major change occurs in Iran, it is likely to come after the passing of Khamenei, when a new supreme leader will be chosen for only the second time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Khamenei succeeded the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah

Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989. The next supreme leader will be chosen by the 88-seat Assembly of Experts, who are elected every eight years from candidates vetted by the Guardian Council. In the most recent election, in March, Rouhani was barred from running, while Raisi won a seat.

Any discussion of the succession, or machinations related to it, occur far from the public eye, making it hard to know who may be in the running. But the two people seen by analysts as most likely to succeed Khamenei were Raisi and the supreme leader’s own son, Mojtaba, 55, a Shiite cleric who has never held government o ce.

What happens if the supreme leader’s son succeeds him?

Leaders of the Islamic Republic going back to the 1979 revolution have portrayed their system as superior, not only to the democracies of a decadent West, but to the military dictatorships and monarchies that prevail across the Middle East.

The transfer of power from the supreme leader to his son could spark anger, not only among Iranians who are critical of clerical rule but supporters of the system who might see it as un-Islamic.

Western sanctions linked to the nuclear program have devastated Iran’s economy. And the enforcement of Islamic rule, which grew more severe under Raisi, has further alienated women and young people.

The Islamic Republic has faced several waves of popular protests in recent years, most recently after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini, who had been arrested for allegedly not covering her hair in public. More than 500 people were killed and over 22,000 were detained in a violent crackdown. Raisi’s death may make the transition to a new supreme leader trickier, and it could spark more unrest.

Assange wins right to appeal extradition to United States

The 52-year-old WikiLeaks founder is wanted on espionage charges

By Brian Melley and Jill Lawless The Associated Press

LONDON — WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal an extradition order to the United States on espionage charges, a London court ruled Monday — a decision likely to further drag out an already long legal saga.

High Court judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson ruled for Assange after his lawyers argued that the U.S. government provided “blatantly inadequate” assurances that he would have the same free speech protections as an American citizen if extradited from Britain.

Assange, 52, has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classi ed U.S. documents almost 15 years ago.

Hundreds of supporters cheered and applauded outside court as news of the ruling reached them from inside the Royal Courts of Justice.

SCHOOLS from page 1

implementation guide for Civil Rights (OCR) of the PBR that was sent to district principals. Exhibit C contains an email sent from an anonymous Protonmail account “concernedMCSteachers,” to Moore County Superintendent Tim Locklair on Nov. 20, 2023, raising concerns about Moore County Schools’ interpretation of the PBR. The anonymous sender claimed to be an employee of the school system.

The email cited alleged discrepancies between the language in Senate Bill 49 and the district’s “Principal Implementation Guide.”

Senate Bill 49’s language prohibits instruction and curriculum materials on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality in grades K-4.

Assange’s wife, Stella, said the U.S. had tried to put “lipstick on a pig — but the judges did not buy it.” She said the U.S. should “read the situation” and drop the case.

“As a family we are relieved, but how long can this go on?” she said. “This case is shameful, and

According to the anonymous email, the Guide says, “Principals will need teachers to record any additional materials, including books that are added to their classrooms (not to include district materials) and remove any books that discuss/ share a person’s sexual activity, sexuality or gender identity.”

The emailer sought clarication from Superintendent Locklair on the removal of books discussing sexual activity, sexuality, or gender identity and which types of families or parents would necessitate book removal, presenting two possible interpretations: either all types of families or only those with homosexual parents.

The Moore County complaint is similar to one led earlier this year over Buncombe County’s implementation of the same law, though the

it is taking an enormous toll on Julian.”

The Australian computer expert has spent the last ve years in a British high-security prison after taking refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for seven years. Assange was not in

Buncombe complaint also addresses the Fairness in Women’s Sports (House Bill 574) law, which bars males from playing on female sports teams. That complaint does not name the legislature, but instead targets the state agencies responsible for carrying out the law: the N.C. Department of Public Instruction and State Board of Education.

However, recent changes to Title IX by the Biden administration may impact both the Moore and Buncombe complaints.

Last month, Biden’s Department of Education nalized a rule that rede nes sex by adding “gender identity” as a protected group, e ectively opening the door for transgender women to play on women’s sports teams and use women’s spaces in schools.

court to hear the ruling because of health reasons, his lawyer said.

American prosecutors allege that Assange encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to steal diplomatic cables and military les that WikiLeaks published.

“The rule prohibits discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and sex characteristics in federally funded education programs, applying the reasoning of the Supreme Court’s ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County,” per a U.S. Department of Education’s fact sheet on the rule change. Title IX was established in 1972 to protect women against discrimination based on sex in education settings and applies to all colleges and K-12 schools that receive federal money. A number of North Carolina elected o cials, including the state superintendent, plus candidates running for top state o ces (all Republican) have criticized the Title IX changes. As of early May, some 22 states have joined a lawsuit against the Biden administration over

Assange’s lawyers have argued he was a journalist who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sending him to the U.S., they said, would expose him to a politically motivated prosecution and risk a “ agrant denial of justice.”

The U.S. government says Assange’s actions went way beyond those of a journalist gathering information, amounting to an attempt to solicit, steal and indiscriminately publish classi ed government documents.

The brief ruling from the bench followed arguments over Assange’s claim that by releasing the con dential documents he was essentially a publisher and due the free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

The hearing was a follow-up to a provisional ruling in March that said he could take his case to the Court of Appeal unless the U.S. guaranteed he would not face the death penalty if extradited and would have the same free speech protections as a U.S. citizen.

The U.S. provided those assurances but Assange’s lawyers only accepted that he would not face the prospect of capital punishment.

the Title IX rule change. North Carolina is not one of the states challenging the rule.

Top education o cials in Louisiana, Florida, Oklahoma, and South Carolina have issued letters directing their state’s schools not to comply with the changes.

Arkansas Republican Governor Sarah Huckabee also issued an executive order to “Protect Arkansas Students, Women, and Girls,” on May 2, 2024. Huckabee’s order essentially tells education institutions in the state to ignore the Biden Title IX changes states, and the state will “continue to enforce state law guaranteeing the right of students to maintain their privacy. Students must not be forced to shower or undress with members of the opposite sex.”

Ebrahim Raisi died in a helicopter crash Sunday

IRANIAN FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT OFFICE VIA AP

Iranian First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, right, now acting president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, leads a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Monday.

KIN CHEUNG / AP PHOTO

A protester reads a newspaper outside the High Court in London on Monday. A British court ruled that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange can appeal against an order that he be extradited to the U.S. on espionage charges.

obituaries

Ryan Christopher Tracy

October 17, 2004 –May 14, 2024

Ryan Christopher Tracy left us suddenly on Tuesday, May 14, 2024, and we will miss him terribly. A gentle soul with a wry sense of humor, Ryan spread community and friendship with every stbump and smile. Ryan was due to graduate from Union Pines High School in June of 2024, and we are so grateful to all the teachers, administrators, sta , counselors and others who helped him along the way. Ryan was employed at the Piggly Wiggly, in Vass, since 2022, and enjoyed earning his own spending money, making friends and helping customers. After graduation, Ryan looked forward to summer travels, picking up more hours, investigating Sandhills Community College, and moving toward getting his own place. Ryan is survived by his mother, Kate Almy Bonsal and her partner, Lauren Mathers; his father, Todd Christopher Tracy; siblings, Zane Alexander Bonsal and Felix Moore Tracy; grandmother, Jollyn D. Erickson; grandparents, Robert and Elizabeth Newlin; and many loving aunts, uncles, cousins and local friends. He was predeceased by his grandparents, William Bonsal, Patricia Bonsal and Walter Christopher Tracy. Thank you to the people and organizations throughout Moore County who made his 19 years joyful, enriching and precious.

Barbara Ann Jenkins Day

February 24, 1931 –May 14, 2024

Barbara Ann Jenkins Day, 93, of Southern Pines, went home to be with Jesus, surrounded by her family on Tuesday, May 14th. Born in Sneads Ferry, NC on February 24, 1931, she was the daughter of the late Rev. Pleasant Daniel Jenkins and Julia Ottoway Jenkins. Growing up at the coast, Barbara always loved the beach and good seafood; oysters and shrimp were some of her favorites. She had a strong faith and freely shared her love for Jesus with everyone she met. She was a long time member of Beulah Hill Baptist Church and later became a founding member of Sandhills Assembly of God. Barbara’s compassion for others shone in all aspects of her life, having worked for over 30 years as a Registered Nurse in Cardiac Intensive Care at Moore Regional Hospital. In addition to her parents, Barbara was preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Celand Day, 3 brothers and son-in-law Rod Lunday. Barbara was the mother of Patty Lunday, Sherry Mack (Tom), Cindy McKenzie (Johnny) and Jonathan Day (Jenny). She is survived by her 14 grandchildren, 11 greatgrandchildren and many nieces and nephews. The family is grateful for the compassion of the sta at Gracious Living in Southern Pines and for the loving care shown to Ms. Barbara by her caregivers: Monique, Nakita, Angela, Pat, Sherica, Sky, Mabel and Larry.

James Henry Kahl

April 22, 1933 – May 11, 2024

James Henry Kahl “Jim” born April 22, 1933, passed away peacefully at Penick Village Senior Living Facility in Southern Pines, NC on May 11, 2023. He was born in Baltimore Maryland and was the eldest of nine siblings. The day after graduating from high school he set sail in the US Merchant Marines, like his father before him, for three years. Then served two years in the US Army and 24 years in the US Air Force, retiring as a Chief Master Sergeant. He was a dedicated member of Bethesda Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, NC. He enjoyed volunteering and helping out with odd jobs and yardwork at the church, earning the church’s Charlie Berger award in 2015. He enjoyed drinking any beer on sale and maintained his wit till the end. During his ceremonial last beer, he was told that he could have only one beer, and after a slight pause, he added “at a time.” He was preceded in death by his son Jerome of Baltimore, MD. He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Mona; sons, James Kahl of Ocoee, FL, Thomas Kahl and wife Colleen of Solomons, MD, and their sons, Luke of Lexington Park, MD and Christopher (Elizabeth) of Portsmouth, VA; Jerome‘s widow, Donna of Baltimore, MD, and their sons, Samuel (Jenna) of Bel Air, MD and Joseph (Shannon) of Beaufort, SC; great grandchildren, Asher, Alyssa, Elliott and Beau; brothers Wiley, Glenn, Marvin, and Michael; sisters, Anita, Shirley, Jeanette, and Dorothy, all of Baltimore, MD.

Eunice Parker McGill Stokes

November 6, 1932 –May 11, 2024

Eunice Parker McGill Stokes, 91, of Pinehurst, NC, died peacefully at the FirstHealth Hospice House in Pinehurst, NC on Saturday, May 11, 2024. She was born November 6, 1932 in Moore County, NC. She was the daughter of the late Joseph Brinkley Parker and Hilda Williford Parker. She graduated from Vass-Lakeview High School in 1950 where she excelled in academics and sports, and life on the farm: working circles around her brothers. Eunice is survived by her husband, Gene A. Stokes of the home; children, Robert McGill (Denise) of Eastwood, NC, Cathy Grant of Vass, NC, Brian McGill of Pinehurst, NC and Lawayne Stokes Bradshaw (Freddie) of Sumter, SC; grandchildren, Jamie McGill, Brent McGill (Hilary), Derek Grant (Debra), Kyle McGill, Carrie Moon (Mark), Amanda Smith and greatgrandchildren; Gunner McGill, Emma Rose McGill, Ava Grace Moon, Leo Moon, Ezra Moon, Gavin Clark, Harper Andrews, and Davoun Brooks; her brother Joseph James Parker of Vass, NC. Eunice was preceded in death by her children’s father William Robert McGill, her son Timothy McGill, and her brothers Joseph Parker and David Parker. The family was stationed at SHAPE in Paris, France circa 1963-1966 where they travelled Europe extensively. They lived in downtown Paris where the Ei el Tower could be viewed from their house, she loved her time there, where her youngest son Brian was born. While stationed at Shaw Air Force Base in Sumter, SC., Eunice worked at NBSC and Sumter County Airport, where she became an accomplished pilot. After returning home to Moore County she worked at Sandhill’s Community College for several years. When Gene returned to work for Bowman Distribution as a Regional Sales Manager she spent her days as a homemaker and his assistant in their home o ce. After moving to St. Petersburg, Florida she received her US Coast Guard License to Operate or Navigate Passenger Carrying Vessels, however, Gene was the captain and she the rst mate of the “Gorgeous Too.” After retirement, they sold the plane and the boat, bought a beautiful RV and spent the next 15 years together touring this beautiful country of ours. From halibut shing in Alaska to spending winters in the Florida Keys she enjoyed the life she so rightly deserved. They have many fond memories of their time on the road and sights they have seen. Eunice was a loving daughter, sister, wife, mother, grandmother and friend to so many. To know her was to love her, and we did. Our love was unconditional.

Maureen Ann Murphy

March 16, 1950 – May 10, 2024

Maureen Ann Murphy passed away on May 10, 2024 at the age of 74. She passed peacefully at FirstHealth Hospice House in Pinehurst North Carolina after a long battle with cancer. Maureen was born in West eld Massachusetts to William Dennis Murphy and Betty May Otis on March 16, 1950. She obtained her degrees from American International College, Southern Connecticut

and obtained her law degree from Santa Clara University. She Married Hardy Howard Golston Jr. and lived an exciting life with family and friends. Maureen ended her legal career as the Oakland California Corporate Counsel Lawyer for Kaiser Permanente Kaiser Health Plan. Maureen enjoyed traveling, sailing, Napa wine tasting, Big Sir, Ogunquit Maine, Saratoga Springs, Las Vegas, March Madness, The Triple Crown, golf majors, Film Noir and Hardy playing his music. She was an avid reader never without a book in her hand. Maureen was most certainly a very old soul; whose spirit need not return to this earthly plane. Pinehurst was a special place for Maureen. She will be missed my many. Maureen was predeceased by her parents and her brother Steven. She is survived by her husband Hardy, her sister Sharon and brother-in -law Charlie, her nieces Shannon and Chelsea, her Aunts and Uncle and many extended family members in the West eld, Massachusetts area, California and the East Coast.

accolades

The O’Neal School — Class of 2024

Commencement ceremonies will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday at Owens Auditorium of the Bradshaw Performing Arts Center at Sandhills Community College. Congratulations to all the graduates!

Charles Kuzma Fox re Valedictorian

Lauren Kuhn Pinehurst Salutatorian

Caroline Acker Southern Pines

Jacob Bates Carthage

Aidan Blackwell Southern Pines

Louis Blackwell Southern Pines

Noah Blocklinger Whispering Pines

Savannah Campbell Pineblu

Summer Compton Southern Pines

Mia Franco Rockingham

Luke Harper

Sanford

Honor Hicks Whispering Pines

Lauren Hobbs Pinehurst

Brennan Hodges Whispering Pines

Mary Grace Huntley Pinehurst

Reily Johnson Aberdeen

Nicholas Joyce Pinehurst

Tamiya Judd Sanford

Boyd Kenny Pinehurst

Audrey Kim Pinehurst

William Kitchens Pinehurst

Sahara Kokott

Sanford

JP Lee

Clayton Manning Pinehurst

Maxwell Martin Pinehurst

Alex Martin

Vass

Olivia Maxwell Pinehurst

Junior Marshals

Abigail Jones

Morgan Lewis

Charlotte Mills

Carson Pusser

Robert Mays Pinehurst

Katie McCloskey Fayetteville

Quinn Mitchell Carthage

Richard Mullis Pinehurst

Tylar Pastre Whispering Pines

John Shepherd Pinehurst

Ava Simmons Pinehurst

Grace Simpson Pinehurst

William Slagle Pinehurst

Clara Tanner Carthage

Owen Williams Seagrove

Rachel Wol Pinehurst

John Yonkovich Whispering Pines